A 271.5-tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) has started excavating a 2.2km tunnel to carry electricity beneath the River Thames.
The arrival of the ‘Caroline’ TBM marks a major milestone in the National Grid’s Grain to Tilbury project. Launched from a 48.7 metre-deep shaft in Tilbury, Essex, it will begin tunnelling its way towards a reception shaft in Gravesend, Kent.
The project is a new high-voltage electricity link that will replace the existing 1960s Thames Cable Tunnel. It forms part of The Great Grid Upgrade, the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in generations.
Energy minister Michael Shanks, who officially launched the TBM on site in Essex, said: “This major engineering project is part of the biggest upgrade in Great Britain’s electricity network in a generation.
“Not only will this boost jobs and growth, but it will help get lower-cost homegrown clean power to homes and businesses and get us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets.”
The privilege of naming the huge TBM...