At the beginning of March HS2 Ltd launched a competition for residents of the Warwickshire area and for schools to help find a name for the TBM that will start excavating under Long Itchington Wood in Warwickshire this summer: click here to vote.  The competition portal will close at the end of April (2021). Suggestions will be shortlisted in May and three finalists put to a national public vote, before a winner is announced in the summer.  

The 2,000 t TBM will be operated by BBV Joint venture - Balfour Beatty Group and VINCI Construction - and will create a 1.61 km/1 mile length twin bore tunnel under Long Itchington Wood. It will take 5 months to dig the first bore of the tunnel, and then it will be extracted at the south portal before being transported by road back to the north portal to commence the second bore.  

For further information on the project please click here and uk/65 for the tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.hs2.org.uk/. 09/21.