HS2 Timelapse | Work begins on HS2’s longest ‘Green Tunnel’
HS2 has begun construction of what will become the high-speed rail project’s longest ‘green tunnel’ - designed to blend the high speed railway into the rural landscape, reduce disruption and maintain footpath connectivity for communities around Greatworth in West Northamptonshire.
Unlike a normal deep-level (bored) tunnel, the shallow one-and-a-half mile (2.7km) long tunnel is being built using a ‘cut and cover’ process. This involves excavating a cutting, building the tunnel and then burying it, with trees, shrubs and hedgerows planted on top to blend in with the surrounding countryside.
The tunnel structure will be made from more than five thousand giant concrete segments, made in a specialist pre-cast factory in Derbyshire, and assembled on site by HS2’s main works contractor, EKFB - a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall.
Applying lessons from the construction of the latest French high-speed lines, EKFB opted for this modular approach - instead of a traditional process of pouring the concrete on site - to boost efficiency and cut the amount of embedded carbon in the structure.
Greatworth is one of five ‘green tunnels’ that are being built on phase one of the HS2 project, which is designed to improve links between London, Birmingham and the north, boost the economy and free up more space on the existing rail network for freight and local services.
Designed as an m-shaped double arch, the tunnel will have separate halves for southbound and northbound trains – each one the height of two double-decker buses. Five different concrete precast segments will be slotted together to achieve the double arch - one central pier, two side walls and two roof slabs.
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