Construction


of
tunnels
for
HS2
between
London
and
Birmingham
has
reached
the
half-way
mark,
according
to
HS2
Ltd.

A
total
of
almost
47km
has
been
bored,
and
the
project
is
now
reaching
‘peak
construction’,
with
more
than
31,000
people
working
on
it
at
350
worksites.

When
the
line
is
finished
trains
will
travel
through
88km
of
single
bore
tunnels,
which
will
form
44km
of
the
route,
and
53
per
cent
of
the
tunnels
have
now
been
dug.

Tunnel
Boring
Machine
‘Dorothy’
completed
the
second
drive
of
the
1500m
Long
Itchington
Wood
Tunnel
in
Warwickshire
in
March
last
year,
which
was
the
first
tunnel
to
be
completed,
and
at
the
moment
four
TBMs
are
digging
the
13.5km
Northolt
Tunnel.
‘Sushila’
and
‘Caroline’
have
excavated
around
5km
of
their
8km
route
from
West
Ruislip
to
Greenford.
Two
more
are
building
a
5.5km
section
of
this
tunnel
in
the
opposite
direction
from
Victoria
Road
in
Ealing.

In
the
Midlands,
‘Mary
Ann’
is
two
kilometres
into
the
5.5km
drive
of
the
first
bore
of
the
Bromford
Tunnel
between
Water
Orton
in
North
Warwickshire
and
Washwood
Heath
in
Birmingham.
‘Elizabeth’
has
just
started
on
the
second
bore.

It
is
less
than
a
year
since
the
Prime
Minister
axed
HS2
north
of
the
West
Midlands
to
Crewe
and
Manchester,
and
also
the
surviving
stub
of
the
eastern
leg
to
East
Midlands
Parkway,
but
he
decided
that
Phase
1
between
London
and
Birmingham
was
too
far
advanced
to
be
abandoned.

Rail
minister
Huw
Merriman
said:
‘Reaching
this
impressive
milestone
on
a
project
of
HS2’s
scale
shows
just
how
much
momentum
is
behind
construction
of
the
line,
which,
once
complete,
will
have
a
transformative
impact
on
rail
travel
for
generations
to
come.

‘It’s
a
significant
achievement
for
the
team
helping
deliver
this
railway
and
I’m
delighted
the
project
has
now
supported
record
numbers
of
new
jobs,
demonstrating
the
vital
role
it
is
playing
in
creating
opportunities
up
and
down
the
country.’

A
question
mark
still
hangs
over
the
planned
HS2
London
terminus
at
Euston,
but
HS2
Ltd
said
‘significant
preparatory
works
have
already
been
completed’
between
Old
Oak
Common
and
Euston.
Two
TBMs
are
being
manufactured
and
tested. 

A
new
storm
blew
up
earlier
this
week
when
the
government
was
reported
to
have
admitted
that
its
intention
to
fund
the
Euston
section
with
private
investment
had
been
reconsidered,
and
that
£1
billion
could
now
come
from
public
funds.
HS2
Ltd
said
only
that
the
government
is
‘exploring
different
funding
mechanisms’
to
pay
for
the
7.2km
tunnel
to
Euston.