HS2: 10-mile long tunnel under Chiltern Hills completed almost three years after setting off
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
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 paving the way for faster, greener journeys between London and Birmingham while supporting hundreds of jobs and apprenticeships along the way.
“Today’s breakthrough of HS2’s longest tunnel highlights the momentum behind the project and the achievement is testament to the hard work and dedication of the 450-strong team helping deliver the line that will transform rail travel for generations to come.”
A tunnel boring machine’s front shield being mounted near Old Oak Common, on 10 October 2023. File pic: PA
Preparations for the launch of two more machines to excavate tunnels between Old Oak Common and Euston in the capital is also under way.
Four similar machines are being used for tunnels on the approach to London, while another two will work on Birmingham’s Bromford tunnel.
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The three million cubic metres of chalk and other material removed by Florence will be used for a grassland restoration project in Rickmansworth.
Construction for HS2 at Curzon Street, Birmingham, on 4 November 2023. File pic: PA
Construction work on the HS2 line in Water Orton near Birmingham, on 15 February 2024. File pic: PA
In January, HS2 Ltd executive chairman Sir Jon Thompson said the cost of building HS2 between London and Birmingham could reach nearly £67bn – almost double an early projection for the entire original project.
Now only reaching Birmingham after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the northern leg of the project would be scrapped in 2023, the new estimate is nearly double what the high-speed network was expected to cost in 2013, when it had a price tag of £37.5bn.
The Public Accounts Committee also warned this month that the new plan to build HS2 between London and Birmingham but not extend it to Manchester will be “very poor value for money“.
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Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s anti-terror case should have been kept open, a review into his attacks has found.
Following the killings in Southport last summer, a rapid review was launched into Rudakubana’s contact with Prevent – a government strategy aimed at stopping people from becoming terrorists.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Home Office minister Dan Jarvis repeated that Rudakubana was in contact three times before his attacks at a Taylor Swift dance class where three young girls were murdered.
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He added that the report found Rudakubana should have been referred to Channel, another anti-terror scheme.
Mr Jarvis said: “The review concluded that too much focus was placed on the absence of a distinct ideology, to the detriment of considering the perpetrator’s susceptibility, grievances, and complex needs.
“There was an under-exploration of the significance of his repeat referrals and the cumulative risk, including his history of violence.
“There were potentially incomplete lines of inquiry, that at the time the perpetrator could have fallen into a mixed, unclear or unstable category for Channel due to his potential interest in mass violence.
“Indeed, the overall conclusion of the review is that he should have been case-managed through the Channel multi-agency process, rather than closed to Prevent.”
He said the review found Rudakubana’s referral to Prevent was “closed prematurely”, and there was “sufficient concern to keep the case active while further information was collected”.
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Could the Southport killings have been prevented?
The review noted Rudakubana was referred to Prevent on three occasions: first in December 2019 when he was 13, again in February 2021 when he was 14, and finally in April 2021.
The first report was due to concerns he was carrying a knife and searching for school shootings online.
The second was for online activity relating to Libya and Colonel Gaddafi, and the third for searching for London bombings, the IRA and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“On each of these occasions, the decision at the time was that the perpetrator should not progress to the Channel multi-agency process,” Mr Jarvis said.
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The report highlighted that in the second referral, Rudakubana’s name was spelt differently from the first.
It then says a Prevent supervisor was unable to find the previous referral and “this may have caused the case to be closed quickly on minimal information”.
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As part of the review, 14 recommendations were made on how to improve Prevent, which Mr Jarvis said they had accepted and would be implementing.
Mr Jarvis said the government is working to set up an inquiry into what happened as soon as possible, although confirmed it would not initially be on a statutory footing.
“The FDIC also looks forward to engaging with the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets,” acting chairman Travis Hill wrote.
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