CHAIRS’ CORNER | BTS & BTSYM


there is a real need to sync these new technologies with the real-world constraints that our senior membership can point out in their sleep; for our younger members it is a case of trial and error as they have been implementing technologies like digital twins and AI with the operational realities of fragmented data flows and poor accessibility. Our most recent lecture, on Direct Pipe® trenchless


technology in June – sponsored by Herrenknecht UK and delivered by their managing director for UK & Ireland, Richard Dexter – illuminated the other side of the picture and offered valuable guidance for engineers and practitioners involved in trenchless works. The talk covered important design and construction interfaces, highlighted how the technique is being applied to complex trenchless crossings and why it is gaining traction within the industry. Before that, in February, a BTSYM lecture focused on


compressed air working on the HS2 Bromford Tunnel using variable density TBMs. The talk was sponsored by Balfour Beatty Vinci and delivered by its young tunnel agent, Josh Knight, and experienced engineering manager Emrah Simdi. The presentation focused on the key challenges, safety considerations and lessons learned from working in pressurised environments, and raised interesting points for further learning. Shaft sinking was the focus of a site visit – organised


BTSYM CHAIR: ASIL ZAIDI I have sprinted past the 50% mark of my year as chair of the BTS Young Members (BTSYM) and already our team has delivered multiple lectures, workshops, site visits, socials and international webinars, amongst other engaging events in line with this year’s theme of enabling innovators. We have reached out to an audience not just in London but across regions of the UK and globally. It has been quite a marathon of learnings for me,


from being part of the judging panel of the Harding Prize 2026 to international travel on behalf of the BTS. We just returned from the WTC, held in Montreal in May, and visited the NFF in Oslo back in March. Now we are planning for the young members’ conference on 23 October and organising the Doug Allenby Medal to be awarded to a deserving young tunneller. All of this seems a bit overwhelming and often I need to be reminded ‘Why I am doing, what I am doing?’ After much introspection, it often leads to the same


Right:


BTSYM members visit the NGET Gravesend site to see vertical shaft excavation technology and hear a project briefing.


answer – people. Those around me are an inspiration to carry on the work to preserve the long history of tunnelling experience and knowledge, and educating our membership about new technologies for future challenges. I feel honoured to serve in the company of stalwarts of tunnelling and also hopeful in talking to aspiring tunnellers. In ‘enabling innovators’, we learn from past, not reinvent the wheel; we have a much better view of the future when we can stand on the shoulders of giants of the past. On lectures, this year (2025–26) began with ‘Human-


Centred Digitalisation in Tunnelling, Practical Solutions for Smarter Operations’, in November 2025, sponsored by Herrenknecht, and delivered by its young product manager, Maximilian Lischke. It became clear to me that


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by young member Alison Drake, working at Ferrovial BEMO JV – to National Grid Electricity Transmission’s (NGET) Grain to Tilbury project. The focus was seeing the Herrenknecht mechanised shaft sinking machine in action at Gravesend. Attendees noted that the technology, by allowing simultaneous excavation and installation of the segmental lining from the surface, removes the need for operatives to work inside the shaft during the sinking process. The machine operates in a submerged condition in this instance, removing the need for additional ground treatment and groundwater management. The visit also heard more about the wider tunnelling project, and the various constraints at both the Tilbury and Gravesend sites, courtesy of deputy project


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