News on HS2 in Bucks & Oxfordshire

Our first two enormous Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) - Florence and Cecilia - have been completed in Germany, ready to be shipped to the UK and begin the 10-mile-long Chiltern tunnel excavation.

After a public vote, the first machine was named after Florence Nightingale: the founder of modern nursing who spent many years living in Claydon, Buckinghamshire. The second machine was named after pioneering astronomer and astrophysicist, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who was born in Buckinghamshire.

The names were suggested by students at Meadow High School in Hillingdon and The Chalfonts Community College, Buckinghamshire, inspired by the female scientific and medical pioneers. Both machines will excavate the twin-bore Chiltern tunnel on the first phase of the high speed railway between London and the West Midlands.

Around 4,500 people from across the UK took part in the poll to select the final names, with Florence taking 40% of the vote and Cecilia a close second with 32%. The schools that suggested the names are close to our South Portal site, from where the machines will launch early next year.

These first TBMs will be operated by our main works contractor, Align JV and the giant 2,000 tonne machines – which have been built by world-leading German tunnelling specialists Herrenknecht – will be shipped in pieces to the UK and arrive later this year. Florence is set to be launched early in 2021 to begin digging the 10-mile-long Chiltern tunnel. Cecilia will launch around a month afterwards and dig the other half of the ‘twin bore’ tunnel.

Both 170m long machines are specifically designed for the mix of chalk and flint they will encounter under the Chilterns. Operating a ‘continuous boring’ technique, they are expected to take around 3 years to excavate the 9.1m metre diameter tunnels which will be lined with concrete as they go. The TBMs will mix the spoil with water to form a slurry which will be pumped back to the main site where it will be treated before being used for landscaping on-site, removing the need for additional lorries on local roads. The tunnels will also be as deep as 80m below ground – ensuring that the communities and countryside above are not impacted by the railway.

If you have any questions about HS2 and our works please contact our HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk