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HS2 celebrates finish for Birmingham tunnel


UK Government commits to tunnel projects UK - The UK Government put its financial support behind two major tunnel projects in the Budget announced in November. Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the


final part of public funding for the Lower Thames Crossing, giving the green light to private investment and work starting in 2026, and also gave Government backing for the extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Thamesmead. Lower Thames Crossing is a 23km road


project east of London that includes two 4.1km-long tunnels (one northbound and one southbound) under the River Thames. The tunnels will link the A2 in Kent with the A13 and M25 motorway in Essex. It received planning permission in March 2025. The project’s Executive Director, Matt


Above: Construction teams celebrate the arrival of TBM ‘Elizabeth’ at Washwood Heath, and the completion of excavation of HS2’s Birmingham tunnels PHOTO CREDIT: HS2


UK - Breakthrough was made on HS2’s Birmingham approach tunnels in mid-October, marking the completion of major tunnel excavation between London’s Old Oak Common and the West Midlands. TBM ‘Elizabeth’ was launched near


Water Orton, in Warwickshire, in March 2024, and finished its journey at Washwood Heath. Balfour Beatty Vinci used two TBMs to dig the 5.6km-long Bromford tunnel that will carry high-speed trains under the M6 and eastern outskirts of the city. TBM ‘Mary Ann’ broke through in May last year. Together, the TBMs excavated more than 1.8 million tonnes of material and installed 5,804 concrete segments for the twin tubes. The spoil – made up of various grades of Mercia Mudstone – is being used to landscape the railway approaches to the city. Balfour Beatty Vinci tunnelling


director Jules Arlaud said everyone connected with the project felt a sense of achievement and pride and the final breakthrough followed years of planning and preparation. The last breakthrough means


excavation is completed for the 45km of deep-bore tunnels between Old Oak Common in west London and the railway’s terminus at Birmingham Curzon Street. Construction teams are now mainly focused on internal


walkways, ventilation shafts and cross passages. Although the tunnel milestone is


a significant achievement for the teams in Birmingham, other parts of the railway’s civil engineering are further behind. Client HS2 Ltd’s Chief Executive, Mark Wild, is leading a comprehensive reset of the programme to deliver the railway in the most efficient way possible and for the lowest reasonable cost. Eight TBMs have been used on the


project so far, excavating 9.4 million tonnes of material. The 16.1km Chiltern Tunnel is the longest on the route, while the Northolt tunnels run for 13.5km from West Ruislip to Old Oak Common in west London. There is a short 1.6km twin-bore tunnel beneath Long Itchington Wood in Warwickshire. Two more TBMs are expected to


launch, in 2026, to bore the tunnels from Old Oak Common to HS2’s London Euston destination. A short section of mined tunnel is


also being dug between the Victoria Road Crossover Box and Old Oak Common. Alongside these deep tunnels, HS2 is also delivering around 8km of shallow cut-and-cover tunnels in rural areas such as Burton Green in Warwickshire, Chipping Warden in West Northamptonshire and Wendover in Buckinghamshire.


Palmer, said the funding “gives us the green light” to start building and “puts it on track to open in the early 2030s.” The proposed DLR project comprises a


3km-long extension from Gallions Reach to Thamesmead via Beckton Riverside, including a twin-bore 1.5km-long tunnel under the River Thames.


Halt in Swiss Cargo project development SWITZERLAND - Work on a proposed underground freight transport system in Switzerland has been put on hold while some issues, including finance, are studied. Cargo sous terrain (CST) project has


been planned to be a 500km-long, nationwide freight network system for automated electric freight vehicles. The first 70km section, connecting the Härkingen-Niederbipp hub with Zurich Airport, was scheduled to open in 2031 and the nationwide network then by 2045. CST began geotechnical work in 2023. The Federal Office of Transport decided


that work on the Sectoral Transport Plan, part of the underground freight transport section of CST, would not continue until some issues have been clarified, especially the private financing of the project. However, the Government remains keen on the project and talks with CST. A review by the Federal Department


of the Environment, Transport, and Communications (DETEC) last year confirmed CST to be technically feasible, economically viable, and socially beneficial. But CST was restructuring after acknowledging the project was not economically viable under the current legal framework or without political support.


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