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Wednesday 12 Aug 2015

Britain’s biggest tunnel-boring machine starts work on Bolton railway upgrade

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

The biggest tunnelling machine in Britain has started work near Bolton as part of a Network Rail project to electrify one of north-west England’s busiest rail routes.

At 9m in diameter at its cutter head, Fillie the Farnworth tunnel boring machine is bigger than the machines used to build London’s Crossrail (7.1m), the Thames Tideway ‘super sewer’ (8m) and even the Channel Tunnel (8.8m).

Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, visted the site yesterday (11 August) to see first-hand how the tunnel is being constructed and find out more about the benefits it will deliver.

The reconstruction of Farnworth tunnel is an important stepping stone towards creating an electrified railway between Manchester and Preston and is part of over £1bn of investment by Network Rail to improve rail services across the north; electrifying key routes, creating new rail links, improving stations and journeys.

Upgrading the railway through Farnworth posed a particular engineering challenge, as the twin tunnels which carry the railway under the main A666 Manchester to Bolton road aren’t big enough to accommodate the overhead lines which will power a new fleet of electric trains in future.

The solution is to keep one of the 270m-long tunnels open to trains, while the other – just 1.5m away – is pumped full of 7,500m3 of foam concrete before a completely new tunnel, big enough for two tracks and their overhead power lines, is re-bored through the new concrete by Fillie and her team of expert tunnelling engineers.

Nick Spall, from Network Rail, said: “The work we’re doing at Farnworth is part of a major upgrade to electrify one of the region’s busiest commuter routes. It will mean faster trains with more seats, giving passengers better journeys and boosting the economy.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on a project that is technically challenging but will also deliver big benefits for local people.”

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP said: “This one nation government is determined to close the economic gap between north and south. Investing in transport – something that successive governments have failed to do sufficiently – is vital to making that happen.

“We had a choice - building the infrastructure our country needs, or letting our transport system become a brake on growth and opportunity. We have chosen to invest for the future.

“Across the north, that investment is already having a huge impact, with programmes – like the impressive work at Farnworth – underway to upgrade our railways and our roads. We are determined to keep the momentum going.”

Nick Donovan, managing director at First TransPennine Express, said: "Once this major improvement work is complete, faster electric trains will be able to run between Manchester, Bolton and Preston, bringing many benefits for people travelling through this busy route, such as more seats and quicker journey times. In the meantime, together with Northern Rail and Network Rail, we will continue to keep customers moving and informed while the work is underway."

Alex Hynes, managing director for Northern Rail, said: “Seeing the changes here on site, first-hand just goes to show the enormity of this project. Farnworth Tunnel is an excellent example of what can be achieved by the rail industry working and delivering projects together. Thanks to this investment, we are on course to run better trains, faster trains and electric trains for our customers between the north’s growing urban centres.”

Around 120 people are working round-the-clock on the project, which has already seen:
• the complete demolition of Farnworth and Moses Gate train stations, with work started to rebuild them on their new alignments
• over 1,600m of tracks lowered
• 7,500m3 of foam concrete pumped into the tunnel
• the construction of a 300m motorway standard access road, removing 40-120 lorries from residential roads each day
• a new footbridge at Kearsley
• the installation of a concrete lining and permanent rib supports to the operational tunnel

In total it will take around 580,000 working hours to deliver the project. The team remains on course to reopen the tunnel on 5 October 2015.