On Tuesday 24 October, HS2 Ltd unveiled the names of the next two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will build its line under London.

While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced that the section of HS2 north of Birmingham is to be scrapped, work continues on the section between London and Birmingham.

A public vote selected names Emily and Anne, after historical female icons in west London.

• The first TBM to be lowered into the shaft has been named after Emily Sophia Taylor (1872-1956), a midwife who provided services for women who could not afford to pay for maternity care. In 1937, Emily helped to establish the Perivale Maternity Hospital, and the following year became Ealing’s first female mayor.
• The second TBM is named after Lady Anne Byron (1792-1860), an educational reformer and philanthropist. In 1834, she established the Ealing Grove School, which was England‘s first co-operative school, providing education for working-class children at a time when schooling was mainly for the wealthy.

Herrenknecht manufactured the two TBMs in Germany. They weigh 1,700 tonnes each, and will be lowered into the launch chambers in pieces and then be reassembled. A crane will lift each part, including the 316-tonne front shield, 336-tonne middle shield, and eight back gantries, which will provide the systems needed for the underground tunnelling operations.

Some of the main components of the first machine, Emily, have been lifted into the twenty-five-metre deep ancillary shaft at the HS2 site in Ealing, in preparation for its launch. Skanksa Costain STRABAG joint venture, which is HS2’s London Tunnels contractor, completed the lift.

The machines are  a type of TBM known as ‘earth pressure balance’, and are designed specifically for the soft ground conditions and London clay. They will begin boring the 3.4-mile tunnel at the start of next year, travelling under Ealing from the Victoria Road site towards Greenpark Way in Greenford, where they will be disassembled and removed via another 35-metre deep shaft. HS2 expects the work to take around one year.

This section of tunnel will complete the 8.4-mile Northolt tunnel, which is being built in two sections. Two TBMs are already boring the western part of the tunnel, starting in West Ruislip and moving towards Greenford. They have completed two miles so far. The two new TBMs will bore the eastern section. The last section of the tunnel – from Victoria Road Crossover Box to connect to Old Oak Common station – will be built using spray concrete lining.

Before the launch of the TBMs, a longstanding tunnelling tradition will be observed, as a local priest conducts a blessing ceremony, and a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnelling, will be blessed and placed at the tunnel’s entrance.

Speaking about the preparations for the next set of TBMs to be launched in London, Richard Crathern, Head of Delivery for HS2 Ltd said: “We are proud that the TBMs have been given names from women with a connection to the local area who made a difference to previous generations of young people. This next set of TBMs will be contributing to important infrastructure for generations to come as they build Britain’s new high speed railway.”

James Richardson, Managing Director of Skanksa Costain STRABAG joint venture, said: “The London Tunnels programme is in full swing and we’re excited to introduce our next two TBMs, Emily and Anne, to the project. They will join our first two TBMs, Sushila and Caroline, who are one year into constructing the 8.4 mile section of tunnel between West Ruislip and Victoria Road, just outside Old Oak Common.

“We are well on the way to delivering 13 miles of twin bore tunnels in London and next year we’ll be manufacturing our final two TBMs that will tunnel our final drive between Old Oak Common and Euston.”