Delivered by HS2's main works contractor, Align - a joint venture formed of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick, the 2000t tunnelling machines digging HS2's longest tunnels passed the second of five ventilation shafts this week, four miles into their 10-mile drive under the Chilterns.
The milestone comes a week after the launch of another TBM in Ruislip which began excavating the London tunnels for the high-speed rail project linking the capital with the Midlands and the North.
Designed specifically for the geology of the Chilterns, the first TBM - named Florence and Cecilia - were launched in the summer of 2021 from the southern portal of the tunnels.
Each machine is a 170m long self-contained underground factory, digging the tunnel, lining it with concrete segments to form rings and grouting them into place as it moves forward.
More than 44,000 segments have been used to form the concrete rings that line the tunnels, with a further 68,000 set to be installed before the TBMs break out at the northern end of the tunnel in two years' time.
The 46m deep shaft at Chalfont St Giles is one of four that will provide ventilation and emergency access to the 10-mile-long twin tunnels. A fifth will just provide emergency access. Once complete, the shaft will be covered by a headhouse designed to resemble local farm buildings.
Martyn Noak, HS2's head of tunnel engineering, said: "The Chiltern tunnel will take HS2 underneath the hills and safeguard the woodlands and wildlife habits above ground as well as significantly reducing disruption to communities during construction and operation of the new railway.
"It's great to see how much progress has been made by Florence and Cecilia - and the teams excavating the five shafts - and I'd like to thank everyone involved in getting us this far."
These first two TBM on the HS2 project are operated by, Align. Each machine has a crew of 17 people, working in shifts and supported by over 100 people on the surface, managing the logistics and maintaining the smooth progress of the tunnelling operation.
Didier Jacques, Align's underground construction director, said: "Florence and Cecilia reaching our second shaft at Chalfont St Giles is a great achievement for the tunnelling team and I would like to pay credit to TGT, our supply chain partner, whose personnel are manning the TBMs.
"It's also important to acknowledge the work by the construction team involved in excavating and preparing the shaft. In particular, I would like to pay credit to KVJV, VolkerLaser and Keltbray our supply chain partners, who have been working tirelessly over the last few months to ensure the shaft is ready for the arrival of Florence and Cecilia, learning from their experience of excavating and preparing our first shaft at Chalfont St Peter."
Each of the separate northbound and southbound tunnels will require 56,000 precision-engineered, fibre-reinforced concrete segments - which are all being made in purpose build factories on site at the south portal, located just inside the M25.
Approximately 2.7 million cubic metres of material - mostly chalk and flint - will be excavated during the construction of the tunnels and used for landscaping. So far more than one million cubic metres have been placed on site. Once construction is complete, the temporary buildings at the south portal will be removed and the site landscaped with around 90 hectares of wildlife-rich chalk grassland habitats.
In total there will be ten TBMs on the HS2 project - working to create 64 miles of tunnels between London and the West Midlands including major tunnels on the approach to London and Birmingham.
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