The second tunnel boring machine, named ‘Elizabeth,’ joins its predecessor ‘Mary Ann’ in the 24/7 tunnelling operation led by Balfour Beatty VINCI, pushing HS2’s high-speed railway project another step closer to completion
The 125-metre-long TBM has started on its journey to dig the second bore of HS2’s Bromford Tunnel, between the east portal at Water Orton in North Warwickshire and the west portal at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.
The 3.5-mile-long bore tunnel will carry trains in and out of Birmingham, and a series of viaducts between Washwood Heath and Curzon Street Station will connect trains to the city centre.
The second TBM is due to finish its journey in Autumn 2025
Approximately 450 people employed by Balfour Beatty VINCI are overseeing the implementation of the Bromford Tunnel program.
Specifically, a dedicated tunnelling team based in Solihull, associated with Balfour Beatty VINCI’s subcontractors Tunnelcraft and Rorcon, is actively operating both tunnel boring machines (TBMs) 24/7.
Each tunnel bore is expected to be completed within an approximate timeframe of 16 months.
The high-speed railway is helping to recruit workers locally
Catherine Loveridge, HS2’s senior project manager, said: “Over a third of our total HS2 workforce is based at worksites across the West Midlands, and thousands more jobs are still to be created locally as work to build Curzon Street Station, Interchange Station and the Washwood Heath Depot gathers momentum.”
Tunnelcraft has recruited nine tunnelling apprentices, including formerly unemployed people from the local area, providing a unique opportunity to learn new skills and start a new career.
Balfour Beatty VINCI awarded Rorcon a subcontract in 2023 to provide specialist tunnel labour for the Bromford tunnels. Around 60 people, including one company apprentice, are working on the Bromford Tunnel programme.
Both TBMs will remove a total of 1.87m tonnes of excavated material
Working as an ‘underground factory,’ both TBMs will install 41,594 concrete segments, creating 5,942 rings to make the twin-bore tunnel, each ring weighing 49 tonnes.
The segments are being produced at Balfour Beatty VINCI’s pre-cast factory at Avonmouth near Bristol.
