HS2 TBM Progress

[LNW-GW Joint]

Continuing from the former generic HS2 construction thread:
HS2 Ltd continues its rather erratic updates on the progress of its 5 TBMs, issued today (Dec 12) for December 9 (except that the Chiltern report is for December 6, almost a week ago).

The Chiltern TBMs were at 7784m/7551m, continuing the approx 20m/day rate of recent weeks and closing rapidly on the 8km half-way point.
The Northolt TBMs were at 310m/57m. Shushila, the first, continues to move at around 5m/day, but the second, Caroline, appears not to have moved for 10 days.
Dorothy, boring the second Long Itchington tunnel, is already at 112m and is moving well after its second launch on November 24.

In your area map - HS2

Search our interactive In Your Area Map to find information about current or planned HS2 construction works taking place across the route.

www.hs2.org.uk

 

[TheHSRailFan]

Florence seems to be halfway between the Chalfont St Giles shaft and Amersham shaft. Quickly approaching the halfway point for the tunnels which my guess is just before the Amersham shaft.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Florence seems to be halfway between the Chalfont St Giles shaft and Amersham shaft. Quickly approaching the halfway point for the tunnels which my guess is just before the Amersham shaft.

Judging by Google Maps, and assuming the HS2 tunnels are pretty much straight, the Amersham shaft (in the middle of the A413/A404 gyratory) is at 8.75km from the south portal.
The 8.05km half-way point in the tunnel is just north of the A355, and if the TBMs continue their good progress Florence should reach there this week, with Cecilia only 230m or about 10 days behind, so they might both be past the half-way point by their Christmas break.
Getting to the Amersham shaft is another 750m or so, or about 5 weeks' work at current rates, so they might be there in early February.
They will probably pause there for maintenance as they have done at the previous two vent shafts.

For the TBM crews, it's one way of avoiding the snow and ice on the surface.
Not so good for the crews making the concrete segments at the portal though, or building the Colne Valley viaduct.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

HS2 Ltd has not updated the TBM positions for almost 3 weeks.
However, buried on their web site there are winter updates, like this one for Hillingdon, on work planned over the next months/year in the various local government areas affected by construction works.
These are mainly aimed at local residents concerned about noise and disruption.

https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/S2-Worksites-christmas-big.pdf

In these updates is says all TBMs will shut down for 2 weeks on December 21-22, and restart on January 3.
This is the traditional construction industry Christmas break, but rather belies the original PR which said the TBMs would operate 24/7 except for Christmas Day.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

HS2 Ltd has updated positions for the Chiltern TBMs, after a 4-week gap.
On January 3 Florence was at 8074m, Cecilia at 7907m.
This puts Florence just past the 8.03km half-way mark in the tunnel, with about 675m or just over a month's work to reach the Amersham shaft.
Cecilia is just short of the half-way point, about 2 weeks behind.
Both TBMs were stopped for 2 weeks from December 21 to January 3, so are just getting going again after the Christmas/New Year break.

No update yet for the other 3 TBMs.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

A general update from HS2 Ltd on TBM progress is overdue.
TBM Dorothy was reported on January 5 to be at 292m in the Long Itchington eastern tunnel, making good progress.

Rail Minister Huw Merriman had a walk along the completed section of the Colne Valley Viaduct today.
It was reported that 141 segments out of the 1000 needed have been installed, so that's 14% complete.
With 56 piers/spans to do, that equates to about 8 span sections complete after 7 months work (with pier construction well ahead of the spans).
With a 2-year completion target, the rate needs to increase markedly.

HS2: First steps on UK’s longest railway bridge

HS2 minister Huw Merriman today became the first person to officially walk on top of the UK’s longest railway bridge, which is under construction at an HS2 site just outside London.

mediacentre.hs2.org.uk

The minister talks about the "spectacular views" that will be visible from HS2 trains on the viaduct.
Hopefully the view will not be impeded by the noise barriers that will be erected.

Edit:
The situation at the West Ruislip portal of the Northolt tunnels is confusing.
It appears that spoil from the Northolt TBMs is being trucked to Willesden as the conveyor facility at West Ruislip is not ready.
Another item shown in the update is that tunnel segment delivery to West Ruislip by rail is being tested this week, so a siding must now exist for that purpose.

Notes from HS2 Ltd advice to local residents in the area (my bold):

Our Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have started their journey from the West Ruislip Portal to Greenpark Way Ventilation Shaft as part of the construction of the new HS2 line linking Euston to Birmingham. They have not yet reached their full operating speed but are now producing more material as they dig. The soil is currently being moved from our West Ruislip portal site by lorries via road. In 2023, this output will be transported by a conveyor running from the portal to our Southern Sustainable Placement Area (SSPA). The conveyor is due to come into operation by the end of February 2023. Until then, we need to move more material away from the West Ruislip portal to allow the TBMs to continue their work. Some of this material will be temporarily stored on our sites in the local area. At present, the only way we can do this is by using lorries to transport the soil from the TBMs. As a result, there will be additional lorry movements on roads around West Ruislip from 19 December to 31 March 2023. These additional movements will require 24/7 working starting in January 2023 to ensure that we inconvenience residents using local roads as little as possible during the day.

There's a description of the nightly train movements to deliver the tunnel segments to West Ruislip, including considerable detail on the unloading process for the train.

https://assets.hs2.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ANL-Rail-siding-test-and-segments-delivery-to-West-Ruislip-Portal-site-January-2023.pdf

From January 2023, these segments will be delivered by rail to our newly built siding at the West Ruislip site. One train will arrive at West Ruislip each night delivering 20 rings, each comprising of 7 segments. There will be a slight overlap and we will continue with lorry deliveries in the short term until we have built up a stockpile of segments. That will mean 45 lorries are removed from roads in the local area. The volume of rail traffic on the Chiltern Line, through West Ruislip, means that our train can only deliver segments at night. Our train will arrive at West Ruislip station around 11pm. The locomotive will then divide the train into two parts and shunt them into the siding. Our locomotive will then shut down while the gantry crane unloads the segments. The locomotive will restart at around 6am, shunt the train back into one piece prior to departure at around 7am. Most of the time the trains are at our West Ruislip site they will be stationary while they are being unloaded. During the unloading process, the locomotive engine will be shut down. It will only start up again shortly before its departure time in order to build up brake pressure. We will ensure that adequate noise monitoring is in place. We will provide 24/7 engagement coverage via the HS2 Helpdesk to our site to ensure immediate investigation and resolution of any queries or complaints that may be made.

 

[Bald Rick]

Hopefully the view will not be impeded by the noise barriers that will be erected.

The noise barriers on that viaduct will be transparent.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The noise barriers on that viaduct will be transparent.

Perhaps with pictures of birds on them to prevent collisions, as in some countries abroad...

 

[snowball]

Perhaps with pictures of birds on them to prevent collisions, as in some countries abroad...

I have silhouettes of hawks on two of my windows (stickers bought at a nature reserve) but I still get occasional bird collisions.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

The TBM positions in the Northolt tunnel have been updated today, the first since December 9: Shushila is at 496m, Caroline at 372m (of 8km).
Taking away the 2 weeks they were stopped over Christmas/New Year, the rate of progress is substantially better than before, but still about half that of the Chiltern TBMs.
The graphic on the location map has also been corrected, with Caroline now shown on the opposite side of the route to Shushila.

In your area map - HS2

Search our interactive In Your Area Map to find information about current or planned HS2 construction works taking place across the route.

www.hs2.org.uk

 

[ainsworth74]

Please note this thread is for updates and discussion about the ongoing tunnelling in relation to HS2. Other matters such as whether a different construction plan should have been adopted are off-topic and should be posted in either a suitable existing thread or a in a new thread entirely. I have moved such a discussion which was off-topic here. Thanks

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Are there any official statistics of their expected speed (preferably metres/day) or is there only what we can figure out from the tracker?

 

[Yindee8191]

Are there any official statistics of their expected speed (preferably metres/day) or is there only what we can figure out from the tracker?

Every official statement has said ‘around 15m per day’. Indeed, pretty much every press release about a TBM on any infrastructure project says it’s about 15m per day.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Are there any official statistics of their expected speed (preferably metres/day) or is there only what we can figure out from the tracker?

The only figure you will find in HS2 PR is an average of 15 metres per day, which scales up to 450m/month or about 5km/year.
The Chiltern TBMs are just a bit below that (13/14m/day overall) at the half-way point, but might well achieve the average by the time they are finished (mid-2024).
None of the others are yet up to that speed, but it's early days.
Chiltern rates of 30m/day and more have been recorded, but counterbalanced by stoppages for repairs and to negotiate difficult ground.
Each time they pass a vent shaft (every 3km or so) there is something like a 2-week stop for maintenance.
Logistics (segments in, spoil out) also get harder the further into the tunnel you get, and there is a second team building cross-passages also involved, behind the TBMs.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

If we assume they'll all magically go 15m/day for every day from last record

Dorothy = 1,064/15 = 71 days -8 days out of date = 24 March 2023
Sushila = 7,344/15 = 490 days -3 days out of date = 21 May 2024
Caroline = 7,468/15 = 498 days -3 days out of date = 29 May 2024
Florence = 7,986/15 = 532 days -17 days out of date = 8 June 2024
Cecilia = 8,153/15 = 544 days -17 days out of date = 26 June 2024

I wonder if they'll achieve these goals, HS2's record tells me we might be waiting a bit longer.

 

[Bald Rick]

I wonder if they'll achieve these goals,

They are not goals, but a target you have arrived at through assumption.

The TBMs will conclude their work in comparison to a programme which HS2 have, and which is not publicly available.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

The TBMs will conclude their work in comparison to a programme which HS2 have, and which is not publicly available.

Is there a reason they're not available, or is it just that no one's asked yet?

 

[Bald Rick]

Is there a reason they're not available, or is it just that no one's asked yet?

You’ll struggle to find detailed construction programmes for any major infrastructure work anywhere. It’s not something that is usually made public, simply because as soon as there is any variance, some smart Alec on a forum somewhere starts mouthing off about delays / incompetence etc.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

You’ll struggle to find detailed construction programmes for any major infrastructure work anywhere. It’s not something that is usually made public, simply because as soon as there is any variance, some smart Alec on a forum somewhere starts mouthing off about delays / incompetence etc.

Not to go too far OT but I understand why the DfT etc does not make a big fanfare about electrification projects in general these days but just quietly starts and gets on with it.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

There's a fine line between publishing enough to persuade the public and politicians that everything's on track, and publishing so much that it gives ammunition to the naysayers.
Unlike Crossrail though, HS2 physical progress (tunnels apart) will be easy enough to follow, as we have seen from various drone videos (which presumably weren't official ones).
HS2 does provide quite a lot of activity information on its web site, but it is mainly aimed at local residents in areas where there is disruption to normal lives, such as road deviations and extra truck movements.

PS. I see there's a (delayed) progress update tonight on Dorothy at Long Itchington, at 416m on January 12, so making good progress.
It would be nice if there was some consistency about the timing of the updates...

 

[gingertom]

You’ll struggle to find detailed construction programmes for any major infrastructure work anywhere. It’s not something that is usually made public, simply because as soon as there is any variance, some smart Alec on a forum somewhere starts mouthing off about delays / incompetence etc.

nobody is going to go public with what the critical path actually is, unless it is way behind and a scapegoat needs to be thrown under the bus. With high voltage grid connections being quoted as 5 years my guess is this will allow some slippage elsewhere in the project, like tunnelling.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Progress nuggets from the quarterly update in Modern Railways (Feb, subscribers only):
a) more import/export by rail of aggregate/spoil is needed, as the spoil extracted by the TBMs is less suitable for re-use on the project than expected
b) multiple rail access points are now in use: Willesden (via conveyor), West Ruislip, Sedrup (Princes Risborough-Aylesbury line), Quainton, Calvert and Washwood Heath.
About 100 trains a week are running to/from these terminals, rising to 150 a week later in the year
c) the HS2 trace will be turned into a railway in piecemeal fashion when each section is ready

The expectation was that the railway would be constructed north and south from the Calvert rail access, but it appears that with haul roads along the route, they can deliver and install slab sections whenever a site is ready.
It's not clear if that applies to rail/OHLE etc as well - you'd think long rail sections would need transporting along an existing rail route, as is happening on EWR.

Another TBM is about to start work, but not on the direct HS2 route.
A special logistics tunnel is being built under the eastern section of the Old Oak Common site, in order to service the Euston HS2 tunnels where boring will start next year.
The logistics tunnel will be 6.2m in diameter (HS2 running tunnels are typically 9m diameter) and will run from the Atlas Road site and under OOC for a length of 853m.
It will be connected to the OOC conveyor system, and will deliver tunnel segments and remove spoil from the Euston tunnels.
The logistics tunnel will obviously outlive the construction project, and will be an interesting asset for the future - but not much use for a road or railway.

Two new local stations (Old Oak Common Lane on the NLL and Hythe Lane on the WLL) are pencilled in to serve the new main station at OOC, but are not funded.
It is speculated that the GW-route part of the new OOC station could open before HS2, as an easier GWR/Elizabeth Line interchange than Paddington.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Dorothy = 1,064 remaining -8 days out of date
Sushila = 7,344 remaining -3 days out of date
Caroline = 7,468 remaining -3 days out of date
Florence = 7,986 remaining -17 days out of date
Cecilia = 8,153 remaining -17 days out of date

They've moved a bit so I thought I'd update here so there's a record of their progress
Sushila = 7,267m remaining -2 days out of date (24/1/2023)
Caroline = 7,476m remaining -2 days out of date (24/1/2023)
Dorothy = 1,064 remaining -5 days out of date (21/1/2023)
Nothing from Florence or Cecillia

Dorothy = 878m remaining -3 days out of date (26/1/2023)
It looks like Dorothy has travelled 186m in 5 days (37.2m/day), that's pretty fast.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

HS2 has announced that the Chiltern Tunnel TBMs, Florence and Cecilia, have passed the half-way mark at 8.03km from the portals.
Actually, Florence must have passed that point just before the Christmas/New Year break, with Cecilia doing the same soon after the restart in early January.
They are now at 8576m/8307m respectively (Feb 1), so Florence has only about 300m, or about 20 days work, to reach the next key milestone, the Amersham shaft location.
Boring rates in January were a bit less than previously, but still above average.

HS2 celebrates as longest tunnels reach halfway point under the Chilterns

Two giant tunnelling machines – named ‘Florence’ and ‘Cecilia’ – pass halfway mark during excavation of the 10 mile long Chiltern tunnels 1.3 million cubic metres of material – enough to fill more than 500 Olympic sized swimming pools – excavated during first 5 miles

mediacentre.hs2.org.uk

In your area map - HS2

Search our interactive In Your Area Map to find information about current or planned HS2 construction works taking place across the route.

www.hs2.org.uk

 

[Bald Rick]

I’m sure it’s a combination of the telephoto and camera position, but the curve in the tunnel in the photo in the press notice doesn’t look fit for 280 / 300 km/h!

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I’m sure it’s a combination of the telephoto and camera position, but the curve in the tunnel in the photo in the press notice doesn’t look fit for 280 / 300 km/h!

Has to be. There is surely no way they would have designed that in.

 

[stuu]

I’m sure it’s a combination of the telephoto and camera position, but the curve in the tunnel in the photo in the press notice doesn’t look fit for 280 / 300 km/h!

Clearly tracks will be along the side, like a roller coaster

 

[zwk500]

I’m sure it’s a combination of the telephoto and camera position, but the curve in the tunnel in the photo in the press notice doesn’t look fit for 280 / 300 km/h!

A very high angle of cant maybe?

 

[fgwrich]

A very high angle of cant maybe?

Italian Job style?

 

[Bald Rick]

Has to be. There is surely no way they would have designed that in.

Im sure it’s fit for it, it just doesn’t look like it!