TBMs Florence and Cecilia begin their journey to the UK
The first two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) for HS2 are on their way to the UK.
The TBMs will be used to excavate the ten-mile twin-tunnel bores in the Chilterns ( RAIL 908). Following a competition for schoolchildren, the first machine has been named Florence (after Florence Nightingale, who spent many years living in nearby Claydon), while the second machine is named Cecilia (after astronomer Cecilia PayneGaposchkin, who was born in Buckinghamshire).
“These impressive TBMs will be instrumental in delivering the first stage of this transformative rail line between London and the West Midlands,” said HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson.
HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Thurston added: “The launch of our first tunnelling machines will be a defining moment in the history of HS2 - and our work to deliver a low-carbon, high-speed railway that will change the way we travel in the UK.”
The 2,000-tonne, 170-metrelong machines were built by Herrenknecht in Germany and will be shipped in pieces to the UK. Once on these shores, they will be taken to the portal site near the M25. It’s planned that Florence will be launched early next year, with Cecilia following around a month later.
It’s expected that they will take three-and-a-half years, running almost non-stop 24 hours a day, to excavate the 9.1-metre diameter tunnels, which will be lined with concrete as they go.
They will also mix spoil with water to form a slurry that will be pumped back into the main site, where it will be treated before being used for landscaping.
At some points, the TBMs will be 80 metres below the ground. HS2 says 112,000 concrete segments, each 2m x 4m and weighing an average 8.5 tonnes each, will line the tunnels.