Source link : https://london-news.net/headline-massive-8-4-mile-northolt-tunnel-completed-as-hs2s-tbms-remarkably-excavate-over-four-million-tons-of-clay/
Four massive tunneling machines operating beneath west London have successfully finished the 8.4-mile (13.5 km) Northolt tunnel excavation, stretching from West Ruislip to a new station at Old Oak Common, as part of the HS2 initiative.
According to HS2, these Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have removed over four million tons of London Clay and laid approximately 100,000 concrete segments to construct the tunnel walls.
Engineers have now initiated the process of bringing the last of the four machines to the surface.
On Sunday, the first segment of TBM “Anne,” which had been underground for 16 months, was recovered from a shaft at Green Park Way in Greenford, located in west London.
Named after Lady Anne Byron, an advocate for educational reform and philanthropist who founded the Ealing Grove School, England’s first co-operative school in 1834, Anne weighs 1,700 tons and measures about 490 feet (150 meters) in length, which includes a cutter head with a diameter of 30 feet (9.11 meters).
Excavation for HS2’s second-longest tunnel commenced in October 2022.
The TBMs operated by a team of 17 workers, managed to remove clay and other materials at a rate of approximately 50 feet (15 meters) per day, functioning around the clock in shifts.
The machines, which were launched from the West Ruislip and Old Oak Common locations, converged in the center to complete the Northolt tunnel in June.
HS2 reported that the enormous amounts of clay extracted were transferred to…
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Publish date : 2025-08-31 16:10:00
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