The machines will spend three years creating the longest and deepest rail tunnels through the Chilterns, between the M25 and South Heath in Buckinghamshire.
Each machine will measure 170m in length, weigh 2000t and feature a cutting head of 10.26m. The machines are being built by Herrenknecht in Germany and will be disassembled before being brought to the UK for reassembly.

Project chief executive Mark Thurston described the tunnel boring machines as “one of the most fascinating aspects” of the scheme. A public vote to name the machines is under way, from a shortlist of Cecilia, Florence and Marie.

News of progress with the tunnel boring machines comes days after the Transport Select Committee wrote to Mark Thurston asking for clarification on a number of matters following an evidence session held into the project on 24 April.

In the letter, committee chairman Huw Merriman asks Mark to set out the steps he intends to take to deliver on his commitment to be open and transparent with Parliament when there is a risk the company may fail to meet a milestone target it has agreed to, or when it has failed to meet such a target.

The letter also asks for detail around changes being made to the management of HS2 Ltd, steps the company is taking to ensure that contractors follow the Government’s advice on social distancing and for an update on how many meetings have been held with MPs whose constituencies are on the route.

The committee has also written to Transport Minister Andrew Stephenson requesting the sharing of current plans for six monthly reports on the project with the committee, further detail on proposed changes to improve the performance and oversight of HS2 Ltd, clarity on the speed and frequency of rail services and whether Government plans to go ahead with the current designs for Old Oak Common and Euston.

Last week, Old Oak Common gained planning approval from the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation so that work can progress on the 14 platform station in west London.

And details are expected shortly around how local transport services will link to a High Speed 2 station at Toton in the East Midlands.

(Photograph: High Speed 2 Ltd)