Two tunnelling machines named Cecilia and Florence have been bought to help build HS2 have been unveiled by the firm behind the controversial high-speed rail line.
The excavators are set to bore a 10 mile (16km) tunnel through part of the Chilterns, from a site near the M25 to near South Heath in Buckinghamshire.
HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston said the machines would “be a defining moment in the history of HS2”.
But campaigners said HS2 was “decimating countryside and creating a huge financial burden”. HS2 was first mooted in 2010 and does not take into account the massive changes in working practices brought about by the Covid19 pandemic.
The two 2,000-tonne machines, built at a factory in Germany, will dig as deep as 80m (262ft) below ground.
The plans for HS2 were first outlined more than a decade ago. The initial stage, due to be completed between 2028-31, will connect London and the West Midlands, while the second section will extend into the East Midlands and north of England.
HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson said: “HS2 will provide better, more reliable connections that truly level up our country, boosting economic growth and sharing opportunities.”
Florence will be launched in early 2021, with Cecilia beginning the other half of the tunnel about a month later.
They will run almost non-stop and are expected to take about three years to excavate the tunnel, which will be lined with concrete.
The budget for HS2 has run wildly off course and both environmental campaigners as well as locals have described the destruction as an affront to our countryside.
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