Huge HS2 tunnelling machines digging towards Birmingham

Two huge tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have been launched on their way to dig the 3.5 mile Bromford Tunnel between Water Orton in North Warwickshire and Washwood Heath in Birmingham.
This update will show how the team of around 450 people worked together to begin the construction of the Bromford Tunnel.
The first TBM launched, in August 2023, is called 'Mary Ann' after Mary Ann Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, who was an English novelist. The name was suggested by the Warwickshire community.
The second bore began in March 2024 and will be dug by TBM 'Elizabeth' after Dame Elizabeth Cadbury, who spent her life campaigning for the education and welfare of women in Birmingham. Pupils from Paget Primary School in Birmingham chose the name.
The expert tunnelling team will operate the TBM 24/7, with each bore taking around 16 months. 1.87 million tonnes of material will be excavated and sifted at the on-site slurry treatment plant to be reused on nearby sites at the Delta Junction viaduct.
Find out more at: www.hs2.org.uk/bromford-tunnel/
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0:00 Introduction
0:11 What is the Bromford Tunnel?
0:29 Extending the tunnel
0:49 TBM Mary Ann progress update
1:23 How is the tunnel being built?
2:01 A collaborative effort
2:18 Constructing the porous portal
2:45 TBM Elizabeth progress update
3:26 Naming the second TBM
4:15 Working on the project
4:57 Tunnel segment factory
5:16 Reusing excavated material
5:55 Final thoughts
6:32 Outro
#HS2 #Construction #update #birmingham #tunnel #tunnelling #highspeed #train
If you have a question about HS2 or our works, please contact our HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 or email [e-mail].

[@tomwatts703]

It really is a fantastic piece of civil engineering, I get the impression that objectors don't think about the sheer level of planning that goes into something like this, or the fact that everything possible is being done to minimise environmental disruption. Hopefully it'll go to Manchester in my lifetime.

[@jeffk4223]

What are the benefits? saving 20 minutes on a journey when the 15 minute cites are being put in place.

[@DavidShepheard]

It's more a case that the objectors are being mislead by car lobbyists spreading disinformation. A lot of people genuinely care about the environment, but have been fooled into thinking that saving one individual tree is more important than reversing climate change that could see low areas in multiple countries face floods. Ernest Marples, the Minister of Transport who ordered the closure of many railways in the UK, transformed our country into a country where large amounts of petrol were burned on a yearly basis to move goods around roads. We have been moving our power generation away from coal, but burning petrol is environmental damage. And it's recurring environmental damage (as opposed to the one off impact of a rail construction project). The true advantage of HS2 (and the reason why it needed to start further south) is that it is going to remove the InterCity trains off of existing mainlines and change them from mixed traffic lines, with big gaps in front of InterCity trains, to slower speed lines, that are more friendly to freight train movements. And speeding up InterCity trains, is not so important between Birmingham and London, but it will be critical between Scotland and London, where faster trains will mean the same vehicles can make more trips per day. High speed rail has also been shown to kill off domestic air travel in Europe. Domestic flights cause massive amounts of pollution and there are too many domestic flights in the UK. The faster we can get high speed rail to Glasgow and Edinburgh, the faster that unnecessary business will die down and the faster we can remove another yearly source of petro-carbon pollution. If the problem is discussed in those terms, most people who care about the environment will agree that we need modal shift of cargo transport away from roads and back to rail. And most people will agree that Brits traveling across the UK should use trains rather than planes. And that is why the people trying to spread disinformation try to make it all about individual trees that are several hundred years old. But trees are just plants. And plants live and die just like we do. What we "owe" to the trees is to reduce ongoing problems like acid rain. And we need to improve bio-diversity, as a whole. It's not about one tree vs a railway project that is going to pull many of the InterCity trains out of Birmingham New Street and free up more local slots for commuters who want to work in Birmingham. The construction damage of HS1 is already healed. The construction damage of HS2 will be gone in our lifetimes. HS2 is going to improve the environment south of Birmingham. Other cities in England, Scotland and Wales also deserve to have their mixed traffic railway problems solved the same way. But I do hope that other cities get given through stations.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@jeffk4223 it actually saves 40 mins both ways from Birmingham to London so what is your problem.

[@TrevorWilliams-fq8mg]

A key feature of the construction industry is that there are a lot of people who can voice an opinion on something they know nothing about.. So there are nonsensical comments like the whole thing can be built for 18 billion, it can be built in half the time, there is no need for all these pen pushers managing on site.

[@ajd8848]

​@@jeffk4223 The benefits are to increase rail capacity by moving existing high-speed trains onto dedicated high-speed rail. This frees up much needed capacity on our current rail network to enable us to run more regular commuter trains much more reliably. Some of the lines it runs near like the West Coast Main Line are very congested currently. It's similar logic to motorway expansion. This isn't some new idea it's worked in France, Japan, Germany, China etc. It has very little to do with increasing speed or decreasing journey times.

[@PLuMUK54]

Interesting to see what they are up to in my part of the world. I used to travel through the Water Orton-Coleshill area a lot, but stopped going because it got too time-consuming with road closures and roads diverted. It was also depressing to see the destruction of woodland and houses. However, you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. I remember all of the motorway building. It created a moonscape, yet over the years, it has regreened itself. So will these sites, especially as we are more environmentally aware these days. I'm beginning to wonder whether this project will be completed in my lifetime. I also wonder whether Birmingham will become a northern suburb of London. At one time Hampton-in-Arden was virtually a commuter town for London. A journey on HS2 will take less time than many people spend on the Underground.

[@terrywilcott2137]

Short sighted government too cancel this amazing project

[@scottpeacock5492]

HS2 hasn't been cancelled, it phase 2 of the line between Birmingham to Manchester been scrapped, tunneling from Old Oak common to London Euston is expected to start in 2025.

[@CRIMSONANT1]

​@@scottpeacock5492.. get real - most of this monstrous vanity project HAS been scrapped. The Eastern Leg, the Golborne Link, the Northern Leg. What's left is nothing more than a shuttle route between London & Birmingham & as for Euston - construction work is on hold for 2 years & will only continue if private investment can be found & as of now, no companies have offered their tender & let's face it, after such an overspend on Euston alone, who on earth would want to put money into a massive white elephant like HS2 which is an environmental disaster of epic proportions & Britain's biggest infrastructure mistake in half a century?

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

*to

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

​@@scottpeacock5492And the mayors of Birmingham and Manchester have come up with a proposal to build their own line between the cities using private funding. They say it's not a revival of HS2, but I think it effectively is in all but name!

[@terrywilcott2137]

To not too. Thank you

[@conradharcourt8263]

There appears to be an eight lane dual carriageway running through this 'nature reserve' that HS2 have had to pay to tunnel under. Odd that the road builders didn't have to do that!

[@mattpotter8725]

An 8 lane dual carriageway isn't a dual carriageway is it? The clue's in the name!!! (Also the M6 isn't running through the nature reserve, you're either not from this area or just like making stuff up)

[@conradharcourt8263]

​@@mattpotter8725 I do not come from the area. Like you I just watched the video which clearly shows a dual carriageway running alongside where the tunnel is being built. (Or bored if you prefer.) I neither know nor care where you come from, but I can assure you that in general English usage, an eight-lane dual carriageway is a road made up of two carriageways of four lanes each.

[@bananabanana2887]

@@mattpotter8725a dual carriageway simply means that there is some kind of divide between the traffic in the middle - it can have more than two lanes in it. Don’t bash people if you don’t know what you’re talking about. The clue’s in the name!!!

[@mattpotter8725]

@@bananabanana2887 It's a motorway but a dual carriageway. A dual carriageway is different to a motorway and isn't just a road with a divide up the middle.

[@Nick-ye5kk]

​@@mattpotter8725Being rude isn't a good look.

[@janeknight3597]

Such a sensible thing to extend the tunnel. I am happy to pay for that. This is such a fabulous project. Thank you for sharing.❤

[@willlister9825]

Nice to see a meaningful video rather than the usual minute-long 'soundbites' that keep coming out. Common sense to extend the tunnel, just a shame more tunnels couldn't be longer to further minimise disruption above ground...

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

Which would've pushed up the cost even more, and people have been moaning about that quite enough as it is!

[@shihanthetrainspotter]

Just a good project I’m really glad That the uk is getting more High speed trains we seriously need more we only have one 1 speed trains and thoughts are the southeastern and Eurostar trains I can’t wait for HS2 to open not long now 6 more years to go until it opens

[@catalickconverta6823]

What a peice of history this will be when completed well done

[@carguyuk7525]

The original submitted design with the hs2 act should have had the long tunnel solution. At least someone worked out a better solution. Very impressive works.

[@EdgyNumber1]

The French are the absolute masters at tunnel boring. Great to see all this knowledge and ideas passing through to us. Elon Musk, take note!

[@antonygreenwood4594]

Great Update!!!!

[@samaltima6998]

This project should have started at Manchester, but it is just more money thrown at London.

[@kevinjones4559]

Yet oddly this video is about Birmingham.

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

Why for heavens sake should HS2 of been started in Manchester, projects like this do not strat at one end but are constructed over the whole site as what is happening

[@tommcmanamon8327]

32 miles of tunnels and vanity bridges through the home counties are the reason why this project is so over budget. HS2 is only HALF a job. The 20 million in the North have been ignored again. Levelling up in the this country is a JOKE.

[@jeffjames3111]

If I lived in Manchester I would be pissed. Also why not Birmingham New Street?

[@1chish]

Why what's Manchester got to be pissed about? The HS2 trains will still arrive in Manchester via the WCML and there are already plans for a new route for the trains. HS2 arrives in Birmingham right next to New Street

[@marcmurrell8827]

BNS isn't feasible the land at Curzon street was available and only a couple of minutes walk from both New street and even closer Moore street

[@daviddearden6372]

@@1chish The WCML between Tamworth and Crewe is already running at over its designed capacity One late running train or failure and it all goes tits up. From Crewe to Manchester it is only a twin track which has to take local stopping services, regional services including Manchester Airport, Intercity and Freight. Thus any advantages of higher speed are lost and the extra capacity for freight is also lost. So yes there is a good reason to be pissed off.

[@1chish]

@@daviddearden6372 The HS2 trains will replace the Class 390s so its not extra traffic. But as I said there is already a plan to build a new route.

[@cityzens634]

Why are you pissed? Try staying off the alcohol

[@ldcclan220]

all this just for it to go by in a flash when your on the train 😂

[@Agent-PRO67]

My dads in there😂😂❤❤

[@stephengeraghty3368]

See what happens when new government gets if it goes any further.Freaky this boring machine is in the midlands awesome

[@Mugglewig]

So where is the emergency tunnel for when a train breaks down, or even perhaps has a fire in the tunnel…

[@terrywilcott2137]

Sorry HS2 phase 2 as been cancelled

[@ncooper8438]

I wonder how many Birmingham residents are working on the HS2 tunnelling project?

[@Wayne-fn1sw]

None locals are lazy in Birmingham the dump

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@Wayne-fn1sw Why is Birmingham a Dump, explain please. before making childish claims try visiting Birmingham fist and see the truth and no Brummies are not Lazy. Is where you live any better.

[@peterjaniceforan3080]

🇬🇧🚄🫡

[@ENGBriseB]

Hopefully when this is done and the economy picks up. There will be more high speed railway lines built across the country improving on existing lines. And improving on old stock. This is much needed as for so long why has are trians been in need of help. It's been letting down the Nation for far too long. And the poor people that have had to use it. And its not like their making no money out of it. Come on Britain we're better than that.

[@gazs6571]

The north getting screwd again.

[@jonminson5770]

Great idea. Another big hole to pour sll my tax into

[@nickmahi2789]

How about they spend the public money on the NHS to help us all out as it’s in such a mess currently, I’m sure it’s more important

[@jeffk4223]

If this propersition was put on the dragons den, £100 billion so save 20 minutes on the existing travel time. All the country side and wildlife gone. All the diesel powered machinery used along with the more then likely millions of tons of concrete thats going to be used. I wonder if they would invest?? Just by going on this global warming sides of it.

[@Leon-lt5gv]

When did thather start this job 💰💰💰💰💰💰💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷💷 once upon a time 🤣😂

[@jeanjacques9980]

I would be grateful if someone could explain why the tunnels did not align with existing rail lines and motorways. The route of HS2 caused a huge amount discontent. Where is Saint Barbara on the site?

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

Well why should they align with them

[@jeanjacques9980]

@@peterwilliamallen1063 They own the land and ground rights, no need for huge disruption. In the States they build subways/tube lines above each track. Don’t think trains can run at 300-400kph in tunnels?

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

@@jeanjacques9980 Well thats the fact oin the main part of the line they will be running at 250 mph through the tunnels

[@jeanjacques9980]

@@peterwilliamallen1063 Shame with all the money wasted by this government the line could have run to Glasgow, £60bn on track and trace by Tory mate Hardy whom wrecked TalkTalk and hundreds of £bns wasted on brexit.

[@MrOlympuse410]

because the existing lines are not high speed, the trains can navigate tighter turns without derailing. With HS2, the trains will be going over 250mph, requiring shallower curves, meaning the existing route would not have been able to be followed

[@tonycardall7334]

A ridiculous amount of money wasted on this project and all it will do is benefit London. You only have to look at Frances version that only really benefits Paris.

[@nevillewalker6299]

A complete waste of tax payers money when we have an NHS unable to treat us and a depleted military. Someone is getting a big pay back though I'm sure.

[@ncooper8438]

With a million illegal immigrants idling away their time why go to the expense of a tunnelling machine when you can buy them picks and shovels?

[@vinniesuperstar8923]

all of these tunnels though, as much of a great engineering project as it is, it's going to be a terrible experience for the actual passengers. I hope your trains are fitted with seat back TV's because there's going to be nothing else to look at.

[@PLuMUK54]

Do they provide entertainment on the Underground? People are down there for longer than the few minutes that it will take to go through this tunnel.

[@JohnSmith-bx8zb]

Total waste of money

[@seanthomas2906]

Waste of money and a fools folley imo. Would have been cheaper to improve what we have.

[@djohh3057]

What a colossal waste of taxpayers money, massively overspent, will miss its start finish date and is already obsolete.

[@Phil_Mitchell]

I support HS2 for Birmingham ie it will be another exit for Brummie's to leave their hell hole dump of a city 😂 Face it Brummie's, Manchester is half your size and yet is more important than your bankrupt city lol. Manchester doesn't even need HS2 unlike you. Manchester has the biggest media hub outside London, biggest skyline outside London, a world class sporting city home to Man Utd, Man City, Old Trafford CC. I'm missing loads more probably. But well done Brum for hosting a Commonwealth Games you couldn't afford. You're the banter city of the UK 😂😂😂

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

Wow what utter crap, Birmingham now is far more important than the City of Manchester being the UK's 6th largest City as against City of Birmingham the Second Largest City in the UK, it is not the City of Birmingham that is Bankcrupt but just the City Council different things and the City of Birmingham is Flourishing, Birmingham is the home to world Class Cricket at Edgebaton, two Football teams Aston Villa and Birmingham City plus the home of the 2026 European Championship Atheletics at Perry Barr Stadium wher the 2022 Commonwealth Games were held and Birmingham could afford it as it came in under budget which meant Millions of pounds not spent on the games was disytributed through out birmingham and the West Midlands

[@415volts]

What a fantastic... .. waste of money.

[@peterjohnson1739]

Really? HS2 is generating thousands of jobs and hundreds of new apprenticeships. Paying those people costs money. In turn their families are supported, HS2 spends more money in the supply chain and those they employ directly spend their money in the local economy. Then there is all the investment in Birmingham from businesses that recognise how much good will come from HS2. All of which generates tax income. Is there an alternative? Well you could end HS2, make all those people redundant, inflict misery on thousands and send the Social Security budget through the roof. This country must invest in the future and at the same time keep and develop a skilled workforce.

[@normhanson981]

Birmingham will boom , the costs of construction will be tiny compared to the long term investment that will go onto the city.

[@415volts]

@@peterjohnson1739 They are obviously very skilled people and I fully understand the creation of jobs and supply chain knock on etc - it's just a real shame their skills weren't better focussed on other improvements elsewhere, rather than this over budget and obscene waste of money / fat cat gravy train that very few will use, but many have been massively negatively impacted by.

[@peterjohnson1739]

@@415volts Time will tell. My belief is that once it’s completed (and largely hidden in tunnels & cuttings) public opinion will see it as an asset and wonder (a) what was all the negative fuss about and (b) why wasn’t it built decades earlier without wasting so much time & money on public enquiries and pandering to misguided activists whose only “success” was to push up the cost.

[@jms6945]

​@@415voltsout of curiosity, do you see the Euro tunnel as a waste of money?

[@mattgoodchild8215]

What was once a beautiful part of the world water Orton is now trashed forever beyond repair Another glossy bull sh*t video to mask the real truth of a gravy train to apocalypse

[@carguyuk7525]

Did someone get out of bed on the wrong side today?😂

[@rubberduck3788]

Ah yes, a tunnel is what wrecked Water Orton, not the sewage treatment plant half a mile away that's literally the same size as Water Orton, or the M6, M6 Toll Road and M42, or the huge industrial estate, it was this tunnel and some train track.

[@1chish]

Oh hello Matt still peddling the 'apocalypse' nonsense I see. So Water Orton is a beautiful part of the world? Maybe the river bit is but the rest? Yeah right. And how is it 'trashed' when the line is in tunnels underground? 🤔 D'UH!

[@rubberduck3788]

@@1chish 100% Matt is living in some cave or former coal mine in the area and he's upset the TBM is making his living room rumble slightly.

[@1chish]

@@rubberduck3788 He does seem obsessed with 'apocalypse'... 😂😂

[@MarkUKInsects]

I am not happy that the Manchester leg has been cancelled. However, can anyone guide me here? My understanding was that the London Birmingham leg is a major bottleneck on the rail network, and that was the justification of building that part of HS2. The Birmingham Manchester leg was more to do with speed and there is less of a capacity issue? Is this true? If not can, you give more background please? Hopefully the next government, whatever their colour, will green-light this not only to Manchester and Leeds, but even further north.

[@mattpotter8725]

It was more about capacity into London for the southern part but you're wrong the biggest gains were the northern part, especially the Eastern part and freeing up capacity in the East Midlands, building a hub station to serve Nottingham and Derby, and then heading up to Sheffield and Leeds. I too hope the Manchester leg is reinstated by the next government as on this stretch there is a big capacity problem around Stoke and up to Crewe, which if not bypassed HS2 trains will just add to as they crawl through this section. Again the most costly part of the project tunnelling to avoid going overground through Tory constituencies was kept at the expense of investment in the north. It should have been started in the north and built going south, then those in London would never have cancelled it to their precious townhouses in Kensington or Islington.

[@MikeWillSee]

The whole network was about capacity, and actually now by not building phase 2a (to Crewe) as a minimum, it means HS2 will join the existing network south of one of the biggest bottlenecks on the WCML (Colwich Junction) and make capacity WORSE than it is today on that stretch of line! The reason the London - West Midlands section is being built first is because that's the section of the WCML which projections showed will reach capacity soonest, but there are still major capacity constraints elsewhere on the WCML, as well as the MML and ECML, which is what Phase 2 was designed to relieve.

[@MarkUKInsects]

@@MikeWillSee Oh, thanks for the reply. I suspect there will also be the "M25" issue of build it and people start using it, so make it bigger and more use it again. For rail, that not so bad "if" that do build it. We need an alternative to flying or driving.

[@MikeWillSee]

@@MarkUKInsects yep the problem is that whenever you make improvements, it just moves the bottlenecks elsewhere. Even if HS2 were completed in full as originally planned, there would likely be bottlenecks arising at its interfaces with the existing network e.g. at Sheffield, Crewe, York, and Wigan where the HS2 trains would start running on existing lines.

[@mattpotter8725]

@@MikeWillSee She with everything you've said here (and liked your comment), but my comment was more about the impact the phase of the project would have in the region it served. If it was purely about biggest economic benefit then the South East would always get the infrastructure investment over other regions of the UK, but that would just mean a bigger economic difference and more investment where it has already had three most with the rest of the country lagging behind. My comment about starting the project in the North going South was more because those in Westminster wouldn't have cancelled a project planned to terminate in London. I get that money is very tight right now with other priorities but I just don't get why they couldn't have just pushed back the dates for the future phases, cancelled for political reasons totally betrayed any leveling up agenda (if one ever existed, which I view very sceptically). I've also heard, as mentioned in my previous comment, that the Southern section currently being built was the most expensive section with in my opinion excessive tunnelling massively adding to the cost to hide the project away from sensitive Tory voting constituencies. So in conclusion the cancelled Northern section could have been built if these decisions on the route of the southern leg hadn't been so unnecessarily expensive. Totally agree with your comment about Colwich junction and it being the biggest bottleneck. How keeping the section bypassing this wasn't kept is beyond belief imo, and just asked ignorance, as was the decision to announce the cancellation of the leg to Manchester in the Tory Conference in Manchester!!!

[@np939427a]

Waste of taxpayers money. Complete joke to the nation for 18 min faster time? Jog on" Bungle Doris!..

[@peterwilliamallen1063]

Sorry 40 mins faster in both directions

[@lip-filler-looks-rank]

wow someone is still getting rich from this project. we dont and never did need hst. what a fleecing of tax payers money

[@mrglide7078]

'wow someone is still getting rich from this project.' : So, like the contractors. Well, uh, yes, unless they are doing the work for free... 'we dont and never did need hst' : who is 'we'? You? Oh, ok then, pack it all up lads! 'what a fleecing of tax payers money' : infrastructure costs money. what's your point?

[@CRIMSONANT1]

​@@mrglide7078.. yeah, infrastructure costs money but are you not aware of the blatant corruption that's recently been exposed? Whistleblowers from HS2 Ltd assert that senior management orchestrated efforts to downplay the true costs of this monstrous vanity project. These insiders claim they were instructed to deceive about the financial position, with the intention of securing continued funding worth billions. In other words, they've fleeced the government & the public out of pure greed & a public enquiry is imminent which hopefully, will get to the bottom of the financial irregularities.