Following its 8km drive underneath the capital, HS2 and contractor SCS JV have lifted Herrenknecht TBM ‘Sushila’ out of the ground at the Green Park Way site in Greenford, West London. The cutterhead, front and middle shield, weighting 850 tonnes, were lifted from the vent shaft in one piece on Saturday, March 15th, using a 750 tonne gantry crane.
The TBM – with a cutterhead spanning 9.48m in diameter – was launched from West Ruislip in October 2022 and completed its journey in December 2024. TBM Sushila excavated over 1.2 million tonnes of earth and installed 4,217 tunnel rings.
TBM Sushila was used to construct part of the Northolt Tunnel – an 13.4km tunnel being built by four TBMs which will take HS2 trains from Old Oak Common Station to the outskirts of the capital.
A selection of images of the removal are available for download:
Herrenknecht
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How come that an 850 Tonne piece (Cutterhead, front and middle shield,) was lifted with a 750 Tonne gantry crane. Was the crane overloaded? The article says they were lifted in one piece, couls they not be split inro two or three pieces to reduce the load being lifted?