The recycled TBM named Lydia will build an important logistic tunnel to supply ring segments to the main Euston twin bored tunnel.

‘Ellie’ dug two sections of the Crossrail tunnels in the Capital – from Limmo Peninsula in Canning Town to Royal Victoria Dock, and between Pudding Mill Lane and Stepney Green – boring a total of 2.23 miles.

Specialist TBM manufacturer Herrenknecht has expertly remanufactured components including the shield and the cutting wheel for the new machine.

Malcolm Codling, HS2’s Project Client for the London Tunnels, said: “The Atlas Road Logistics Tunnel is key to how we will be constructing the Euston Tunnel between Old Oak Common and HS2’s Euston station.

The logistics tunnel allows us to take 70,000 lorry journeys off the local roads that would otherwise have been required and will reduce the impact of HS2’s construction on the local community.”

Engineers from HS2’s contractor, Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture, have just launched the 847 tonne machine from the Atlas Road site in North Acton.

It will now spend six months on a 853m tunnel drive to the Old Oak Common Station site using over 500 tunnel rings.

Once complete the tunnel will be used to transport 8,010 tunnel segment rings to construct the Euston tunnel.

A conveyor system will also run through the logistics tunnel, and will connect to an existing conveyor at Atlas Road, taking the London clay being excavated to construct the Euston Tunnel to HS2 London Logistics Hub at Willesden Euro Terminal.

From there, the spoil will be taken by train for re-use at sites in Kent, Cambridgeshire and Rugby.