TBM Emily - HS2 Northolt Tunnel East
West London, UK (Victoria Road to Green Park Way) · 2024-2025 (Launched February 2024, completed June 2025) · £87.7bn - £102.7bn (HS2 project total, 2025 prices)
The judgement call
Account action unavailableTBM Emily was the third of four TBMs for the Northolt Tunnel. Named after Emily Brontë. It completed its 3.4-mile drive under London.
Key engineering challenges
Tunnelling under densely populated urban areas. - Managing ground movements and settlement.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- HS2 Ltd.
- Lead contractor
- SCS JV (Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture)
- Lead designers
- —
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- Tunnel length: 13.5 km (8.4 miles) twin-bore tunnel; Drive length: 5.5 km (3.4 miles); TBM diameter: 9.11m
- Disciplines
- civil; structural; mechanical; electrical; systems; tunnelling; geotechnical
- Standards & frameworks
- UK railway standards, CDM Regulations (implied).
Sources: HS2.org.uk (https://www.hs2.org.uk/building-hs2/tunnels/twin-bore-tunnels/northolt-tunnel/) - New Civil Engineer (https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/hs2-third-london-tbm-extracted-from-ground-29-07-2025/) - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/british-tunnelling-society_third-hs2-tbm-completes-drive-beneath-london-activity-7338851721093242880-kZ7O)