On site: HS2’s groundbreaking project under way beneath the Chilterns

By Tom Lowe2021-06-08T05:00:00

HS2-VL-24018-HS2_RY_DavidHares_SouthPortal_069

Building took a trip to the railway’s single biggest site where work has begun on 16km of tunnels carried out by two 170m long tunnel boring machines and 1,000 workers

The first press visit to HS2’s immense South Portal site since covid-19 restrictions were relaxed did not get off to the smoothest of starts. Seconds after arriving at the headquarters of the project to build not only the £100bn railway’s longest tunnels, but also the UK’s longest rail viaduct, Building was informed that there had been a power cut.

The cause of the outage was unknown, but a member of HR, while leading reporters through an unlit corridor to a changing room, was quick to make it clear that only the visitors’ induction centre was affected. A few minutes later, as the press were changing into bright orange overalls, the staff member reappeared to insist that the rest of the site was definitely operating as normal, just in case we had misheard.

Already registered? Login here

To continue enjoying Building.co.uk, sign up for free guest access

Existing subscriber? LOGIN

Stay at the forefront of thought leadership with news and analysis from award-winning journalists. Enjoy company features, CEO interviews, architectural reviews, technical project know-how and the latest innovations.

Limited access to building.co.uk
Breaking industry news as it happens
Breaking, daily and weekly e-newsletters

Get your free guest access SIGN UP TODAY

Subscribe now for unlimited access

Subscribe to Building today and you will benefit from:

Unlimited access to all stories including expert analysis and comment from industry leaders
Our league tables, cost models and economics data
Our online archive of over 10,000 articles
Building magazine digital editions
Building magazine print editions
Printed/digital supplements

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

View our subscription options and join our community