Moment 125-tonne cutterhead of TBM removed after HS2 Birmingham tunnel breakthrough

HS2 says that, following the recent tunnel breakthrough, the 125-tonne cutterhead of TBM Elizabeth has been safely lifted out of the Washwood Heath portal in Birmingham.

The team will now remove the rest of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) to allow work to progress on the concrete finishing works, base slabs and emergency and maintenance walkways.​​​​

HS2 Washwood Heath, Birmingham tunnel breakthrough

Last month, the boring machine broke through to complete excavation work to all of the tunnels along the 140-mile route of the HS2 railway.

The enormous 125m (410ft) long machine emerged on Monday, October 10 after spending 19 months drilling from Water Orton, Warwickshire, to Washwood Heath, in Birmingham.

The breakthrough was described by officials as a "major milestone" for the controversial high-speed rail line after the machine made progress at an average speed of around 10 metres per day.

Eight tunnel-boring machines have been used on the project, with an incredible 9.4 million tonnes of material excavated during their tunnel drives.

The device launched in March 2024 was named Elizabeth after the 19th-century philanthropist Elizabeth Cadbury who was married to Cadbury's director George.

Two identical machines were used to dig the 3.5-mile long Bromford tunnel that will carry high speed trains under the M6 and eastern outskirts of the city, with the first - Mary Ann - breaking through earlier in the year.

Together, Elizabeth and Mary Ann have excavated more than 1.8 million tonnes of material and installed 5,804 concrete ring segments for the twin eastbound and westbound tunnels.

Excavation is now complete for the 28 miles of deep bore tunnel between Old Oak Common in West London and the railway’s terminus at Birmingham Curzon Street.

During their year-and-a-half-long mission, the team on board the 1,600-tonne machines worked at depths of up to 40 metres (131ft) underground.