Overview

• A tunnel-boring machine broke through at Washwood Heath to finish the 3.5-mile Bromford Tunnel after an 18–19 month drive from Water Orton.
• The breakthrough closes excavation on 28 miles of deep-bore tunnels between Curzon Street and Old Oak Common, with all eight TBMs now through, HS2 said.
• HS2 says work now centers on internal concrete lining, ventilation shafts and cross-passages inside the completed tunnels.
• Two additional TBMs are scheduled to launch next year to drive a pair of 4.5-mile tunnels toward Euston, with the station’s development still uncertain.
• The tunnelling phase used 410ft machines operating up to about 131ft underground and extracted 9.4 million tonnes of material, with Elizabeth and Mary Ann accounting for more than 1.8 million tonnes and 5,804 ring segments.