TBM Sushila has been lifted out of the ground after completing an 8km drive under London for HS2.
The cutterhead, front and middle shield, weighing 850 tonnes, were lifted from the vent shaft at the Green Park Way site in Greenford, west London in one piece on Saturday, March 15, using a 750-tonne gantry crane. The TBM – with a 9.48m diameter cutterhead – was launched from West Ruislip in October 2022 and completed its journey in December 2024. TBM Sushila excavated more than 1.2 million tonnes of earth and installed 4,217 tunnel rings.
TBM Sushila was used to construct part of the Northolt Tunnel – a 13.5km-long tunnel being built by four TBMs which will take HS2 trains from Old Oak Common Station to the outskirts of the capital.
