Balfour Beatty VINCI’s giant HS2 tunnelling machine Mary Ann broke through today, marking the end of her mission to excavate the first bore of what will soon become the longest railway tunnel in the West Midlands.
The 125-metre-long machine began constructing the 3.5-mile (5.8km) Bromford Tunnel, which starts at the Warwickshire village of Water Orton and extends to the northeast Birmingham suburb of Washwood Heath, in July 2023. The TBM was named Mary Ann, by the local community, in a nod to the Warwickshire-born writer better known by her pen name George Eliot.
The tunnel breakthrough – HS2’s first in Birmingham - is a significant milestone for the project, which will almost halve journey times between Britain’s two largest cities, whilst freeing up valuable track space on the heavily congested West Coast Main Line for more local, regional and freight services.
The ground-breaking achievement comes as construction work on the giant structures being built to carry HS2 hits a peak, with around 31,000 people now employed on the programme across the 140-mile route.
A 450-strong team supported the civil engineering feat. Men and women from Balfour Beatty VINCI , worked around the clock, for just under two years, to complete the first section of the tunnel. The second bore is expected to be completed later this year by TBM Elizabeth. Following the excavation, teams will begin fitting out the tunnel with cross passages, concrete finishing works and base slabs, and emergency and maintenance walkways.
During the 22-month-long mission, the team on board the 1,600-tonne machine worked at depths of up to 40 metres. They skilfully navigated Mary Ann under the Park Hall Nature Reserve, the M6 motorway, and the meandering River Tame – which they crossed four times, with a headspace as low as five metres.
The Washwood Heath site, where Mary Ann broke through, will soon become the nerve centre for HS2’s operations. Next to the tunnel portal, HS2’s Depot and Network Integrated Control Centre will be built. From this site, trains will be serviced and stored, and the real time operation of the railway will be controlled.
Jules Arlaud, Balfour Beatty VINCI’s Tunnelling Director said:
"Today’s breakthrough is a significant moment for Balfour Beatty VINCI, as we celebrate the arrival of our first tunnel boring machine into Birmingham. It’s been a challenging drive beneath critical live infrastructure and through complex ground conditions. I’m incredibly proud of our entire team, whose expertise, dedication and resilience has made this possible.
This achievement follows years of design, planning and preparation from BBV, in close collaboration with HS2 and our partners. The team will now move onto the next phase of work inside and outside of the tunnel, while our second TBM, Elizabeth, continues to make great progress on the second drive.”
Mark Wild, HS2 Ltd’s Chief Executive said:
“Today’s breakthrough is a significant milestone for the project and I’m immensely proud of the men and women who have worked day and night to bring Mary Ann and her crew home safely.
“Washwood Heath is set to become one of the most important sites on the entire HS2 network – the point at which the railway will be operated, controlled and maintained using the very latest digital technology.
“HS2’s construction is transforming the West Midlands, and the £10bn investment boost it is already driving across the region will multiply in the years ahead.”
Mary Ann excavated around one million tonnes of spoil during the tunnel drive. In line with HS2’s sustainability policy, the excavated earth is being reused to support construction of the nearby Delta Junction, a complex network of 13 viaducts that will enable high speed trains to travel between London, Interchange Station in Solihull and Birmingham Curzon Street Station. The excavated material is transported via dedicated haul roads to minimise the number of construction vehicles on public roads.
At peak production, the TBM advanced at around 30 metres per day. The crew worked in tandem to navigate the giant boring machine, ensuring the cutterhead sliced through the earth, whilst simultaneously reinforcing the excavated tunnel with concrete segments – each weighing up to seven tonnes.
The precision-designed segments were manufactured at Balfour Beatty VINCI’s pre-cast factory at Avonmouth near Bristol. The TBM lined the tunnel walls with 20,797 individual segments, making 2,971 concrete rings to form the tunnel.
Balfour Beatty VINCI’s tunnelling team includes eleven local apprentices who were recruited and upskilled for the job in partnership with Solihull-based Rorcon and national tunnelling experts Tunnelcraft. Tunnelling is a recognised skill-shortage in the UK and HS2’s drive to recruit and upskill local talent is helping to create the next generation of tunnellers.
In the West Midlands alone, around 10,000 people are currently supporting HS2’s vast construction programme. 710 people from the region have secured an apprenticeship on the project and 1,870 people who were out of work have started new careers. Local firms are also playing a major role in the construction programme, with over 400 local businesses now actively engaged in HS2’s supply chain.
Washwood Heath is one of three key HS2 sites in the West Midlands, alongside the two new stations that will be built in Birmingham and Solihull. Collectively, the three sites have become a magnet for property investors and developers, spearheading multibillion-pound redevelopment projects in the areas nearby, which is forecast to add £10 billion to the region’s economy over the next 10 years.
ENDS
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Notes to editors:
- Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group with over 27,000 employees driving the delivery of powerful new solutions, shaping thinking, creating skylines and inspiring a new generation of talent to be the change-makers of tomorrow.
- We finance, develop, build, maintain and operate the increasingly complex and critical infrastructure that supports national economies and deliver projects at the heart of local communities.
- Over the last 116 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world. Currently, we are working to deliver Hinkley Point C, the first UK nuclear power station in a generation; constructing the world-class arts and cultural facility, the Lyric Theatre, in Hong Kong; and designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining the Automated People Mover superstructure at one of the busiest airports in the world, Los Angeles International Airport.
Image: HS2 Tunnel Boring Machine Mary Ann that completed the first tunnel breakthrough in Birmingham
