Production of HS2's Northolt Tunnel segments begins at new Hartlepool facility

[@jamesderrick8201]

Good mix of paid employment, apprenticeship, and importantly, rail freight. Build a railway; build the railway.

[@Del-bm]

Great to see progress

[@marksherwood2947]

We used to make them at Dow Mac in Eaglescliffe, for the Chunnel and other Civils projects.

[@thesalopian1389]

It's great that this is being built in the North, but if the segments are to be used in London, wouldn't it be cheaper to have the factory in the south?

[@mikehindson-evans159]

Spread the wealth. HS2 is about improving opportunity across the country. Plus, London is a little crowded - hence the need for a new mainline railway.

[@johnhoward607]

Probably the availability of aggregates from a local quarry makes a good economic case for this factory. Great their using re-cycled steel also. I remember seeing the segments for the Elizabeth line being unloaded at Chatham Docks some years ago. They came from Sweden !.

[@DavidKnowles0]

They probably built this factory so it be just as good at providing for the tunnels in the south, as the tunnels in the North and the tunnels for HS3 proposals.

[@petesmart1983]

Cheaper to make up here wages are alot cheaper than down south. Plus it easy to get rid of waste up here and also dodgey houchen involved

[@kensherwood4866]

Great progress, jobs. and decent ones, apprenticeships, new infrastructure, why cant the Govt see that as part of the return to the nation for every pound spent on HS2?

[@adamscorcese4456]

Is this at Hereema’s old yard?

[@digdugdan]

Why not use the factory by the M25 that's making tunnel segments?

[@Pesmog]

That is a good question, as its really local to Northolt, like 5 miles.

[@daveallen2565]

Total waste of time and money, jobs for the boys.

[@1chish]

THERE IS ALWAYS ONE! I suspect that one sentence really stressed your two brain cells. But while you rubbish everything I think its great that 100 people (not all 'boys') now have well paid secure jobs.

[@CRIMSONANT1]

HS2 is an environmental disaster of epic proportions & Britain's biggest infrastructure mistake in half a century. Thankfully, the Eastern leg & the Golborne link have been scrapped & anyone with half a brain knows that the so called "pausing" of the B'ham to Crewe line & Euston station for 2 years really means "cancelling" & fingers crossed, the rest of this monstrous vanity project will never see the light of day.

[@petermorris3665]

Is that the 30,000 'boys' employed directly / indirectly by this much need project to provide extra future capacity and speed out of London to the Midlands and the North.....

[@CRIMSONANT1]

@@petermorris3665 .. haha, "much needed project" - it's as "much needed" as a hole in the head. It's been a total disaster from day one & continues to be so .. even the government are now wising up to that fact, hence the "pausing" of the B'Ham to Crewe line & Euston station for 2 years because of severe financial constraints .. for "pausing", read "cancelling" 😉

[@1chish]

@@CRIMSONANT1 And another NIMBY arrives to grace us with their usual rants and blatant disregard for facts while not providing one fact themselves. They take announcements, misrepresent them and hang their distorted views on the distortions. What an utterly pathetic way to proceed. The extra capacity HS2 will create on other Main lines is desperately needed. To suggest otherwise shows huge ignorance. It has not been a 'disaster from day one'. In fact the engineering has been world class, it kept pace despite COVID and it has been a beacon of civil engineering safety. And it continues with every new development. The Birmingham to Crewe section is being re-planned at the request of local politicians and councils to fit better with TPU. The outcome will serve Liverpool and Manchester in better ways and make progress to Scotland faster. The pausing into Euston is to spread the same costs over more years. Basically what every business and family does every week, Nothing sinister at all. It also aids the demolition required to take place over a longer period meaning less disturbance for passengers.