News on HS2 in Warwickshire

Last month we launched a competition for local residents to find a name for the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) that will start excavating under Long Itchington Wood in Warwickshire later this year.

HS2 Long Itchington Wood Tunnel north portal site

North Leamington School, Warwickshire College Group, The Coleshill School and Long Itchington Scout Group have already submitted names, along with Warwickshire County Council.

Traditionally, tunnelling machines are always named after women and we are asking people in Warwickshire to help choose a name based on their female role models – whether famous people or unsung heroines. The 2,000-tonne machine will be operated by our main works contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) and will create a one-mile twin bore tunnel under Long Itchington Wood.

There is an online portal for Warwickshire residents to submit their chosen names and you are encouraged to choose people who have an association with Warwickshire and may include, for example, actresses, artists, scientists, engineers, authors, athletes and musicians. Names may also include the unsung heroines of Warwickshire, including individuals who deserve recognition for their contributions to the local community.

The competition portal will close on Friday 30 April, and a final shortlist of nominations will be selected and put to a public vote in May. The winner will be revealed this summer.

This is the third of our tunnel boring machines put to a public vote to name, with the first two machines due to start creating the tunnel under the Chilterns this year. They were named after two famous local Buckinghamshire women: Florence Nightingale - the founder of modern nursing who spent many years living in Buckinghamshire; and pioneering astronomer and astrophysicist, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who was born in Buckinghamshire.

Tunnel Boring Machine to be used in Long Itchington Wood Tunnel 4

The tunnel will preserve the ancient woodland, with the final section forming a ‘green tunnel’ - also known as a cut and cover tunnel - where a roof above will return the land to the natural landscape. Around 170 engineers are working on the TBM during its construction and assembly, and a team will then work around the clock excavating the one-mile tunnel.

It will take five months to dig the first bore of the tunnel, and then it will be extracted at the south portal before being transported by road back to the north portal to commence the second bore.

If you have a question about HS2 or our works, please contact our HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk