TUNNEL boring machines Florence and Cecilia have passed the halfway point in their excavation of the 10-mile, twin bore tunnel that will take HS2 under the Chiltern hills between West Hyde and South Heath in Buckinghamshire.
Since being launched in May and June 2021 respectively, the 2000 tonne, 170-metre (558 feet) long TBMs have removed more than 1.3 million cubic metres of chalk and flint during the course of their underground journeys. This quantity of material would be sufficient to fill more than 500 Olympic swimming pools, and it will be used to create chalk grassland at the tunnel’s southern portal as part of 127 hectares (314 acres) of new landscaping and wildlife habitats.