HS2’s first giant tunnelling machines arrive in the UK

HS2’s first two giant Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have arrived in the UK and will be ready to start work early next year. Named Florence and Cecilia – the two enormous 2,000 tonne machines will now be meticulously reassembled, tested and commissioned, by an expert team of tunnelling engineers, before they start work on the high–speed rail project’s first tunnels. 

The 10-mile-long ‘twin bore’ Chiltern tunnel will be the longest on the project, the first to start construction, with the TBMs set to be underground, working 24/7 for more than three years.