Giant Tunnel Boring Machine Starts Five Mile Journey to Greenford

'Caroline' will emerge in Greenpark Way after digging for 22 months

The entrance to the Northolt Tunnel
The entrance to the Northolt Tunnel. Picture: HS2

HS2's giant tunnel boring machine, which has been named Caroline, set off on its five-mile journey from West Ruislip to Greenford on 6 October.

Named after the first professional female astronomer Caroline Herschel, it is the second machine to start work on constructing tunnels for the HS2 railway 40 metres underneath London.

She will be working non-stop for the next 22 months (except for a break on Christmas Day) to eventually emerge in Greenpark Way after digging the twin-bore Northolt Tunnel at an expected rate of 14 metres a day.

A crew of 15 people, working in shifts will operate her with an additional 25 staff supporting the operation on the surface.

The other boring machine, Sushila, began her journey a few weeks before. She was named after local schoolteacher Sushila Hirani, head of department and lead for STEM at Greenford High School. The children at Dairy Meadow Primary School in Southall suggested the name due to her passion for getting more girls from BAME backgrounds into STEM subjects.

It is expected that 2 million cubic metres of material will be excavated during the operation some of which will be used to create biodiversity areas in the vicinity of the line.

Separately, two other machines will be approaching Greenpark Way from HS2's Victoria Road site in Acton next year to build a 3.4mile section of the twin-bore tunnel to link the super hub station planned at Old Oak Common.

HS2's construction partner, Skanska Costain STRABAG (SCS), is working in partnership with Danny Sullivan Group, Camden Council and TheForge@ParkRoyal (part of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation) to provide bespoke training and work placement programme especially for residents who live in local boroughs including Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster.

The three-week training programme, delivered with West London College and United Colleges Group, which started on 24 October, will be followed by a four-week paid work placement, to enable candidates to get a feel for what it's like to work in construction, and as part of the team operating the giant 2,000 tonne machines.

Ambrose Quashie, HS2's Skills Manager for Greater London said, “We're teaming up with some brilliant partners, as we know they are well placed to ensure that local people, who are most in need, benefit from these unique training and employment opportunities on HS2.

“Tunnelling is a highly-skilled career for life, and this is a fantastic opportunity to join the team tasked with constructing some of the most challenging sections of the whole HS2 route.”

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November 1, 2022