The machine digging HS2’s longest tunnel has completed its 10-mile journey under the Chiltern Hills, almost three years after it started.
Dubbed Florence – after the nurse Florence Nightingale – the machine was greeted with fireworks and cheers from hundreds of HS2 workers on Tuesday.
Florence was launched in May 2021 near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, and set off on a 10-mile journey underground before emerging in South Heath, Buckinghamshire.
Pic: PA
It finished one of a pair of tunnels – at a depth of up to 80 metres – that will be used for HS2 trains travelling between London and Birmingham.
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The second tunnel is set to be finished within the coming weeks.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Described as an “underground factory” by HS2 Ltd, Florence ran with a crew of around 17 people working in shifts to keep it running constantly.
During its journey, the machine excavated the tunnel, lined it with 56,000 pre-cast concrete segments and grouted them into position, moving at an average speed of 16 metres per day.
After completing its mission, the machine will now be dismantled over the coming weeks.
Some large parts will be reused in other tunnel boring machines, but much of the machine – with a diameter of 10.25 metres – will be scrapped.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Rail minister Huw Merriman said after the tunnel was completed: “This ground-breaking moment for HS2 demonstrates significant progress on the country’s largest infrastructure project, with Florence…
