Media centre

Tuesday 21 Jul 2015

Farnworth Tunnel boring machine officially named

Region & Route:

| National

The huge machine which will build the new 270m railway tunnel at Farnworth has been officially named ‘Fillie’.

Paris Bate (10), from St Gregory’s school in Farnworth, won a competition to name the machine and suggested the name Fillie as there were once stables on the land which is now the compound for the project.

Children from two local primary schools, St John’s and St Gregory’s, were asked to design a safety poster and suggest a name for the machine.

The machine started to arrive on site over the weekend (18/19 July) and will be put together in sections over the next week.

Constructing the new tunnel is part of a £1bn+ investment to deliver a better railway in the north west of England and will lead to the electrification of the line between Manchester and Preston, via Bolton.

Beth Dale, scheme project manager said, “This is a significant engineering project and we appreciate that our work here is having an impact on the local community. We wanted to do something to include local school children so they could find out more about the work we are doing and railway safety. Fillie is an appropriate name considering the history of the site and we are now looking forward to the machine helping to create a better railway through the area.”

Fillie arriving on site is a significant milestone for the project. Network Rail has ensured that both tunnels are stable for work to start and constructed a huge launch pit for the machine which is 20m long, 3m deep and 11m wide.

Over 7,000 cubic metres of foam concrete have been pumped into the tunnel over the last three weeks, ready for Fillie to start work. The machine is 9m in diameter, and weighs 293 tonnes, with 12m of supporting machinery. Once launched, the machine will tunnel 24 hours a day, reboring the tunnel, and installing 1900 concrete sections which will form the tunnel lining.

Rob Warnes, planning and programmes director for Northern Rail, said: “Getting an opportunity to speak to the school children at St John’s and St Gregory’s has really helped us deliver an important message; not only about safety on the railway but also the importance of the major project. The Farnworth Tunnel project is laying the foundations for much improved rail services throughout the north west. Thanks to this electrification programme, we’ll be able to run better trains, faster trains and electric trains between the north’s growing urban centres.”

Kathryn O'Brien, customer service director at First TransPennine Express, said: "Congratulations to Paris, and well done to everyone who entered the competition to name the boring machine. We received many fantastic entries and it was a tough task to choose just one, but 'Fillie' struck a chord because of its relevance to the site in Farnworth."

Councillor David Chadwick, Bolton Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “The standard of the entries was very high indeed, with some very original names. Fillie was chosen because of its association with horses which were stabled in a field close by. Clearly the work at the Farnworth Tunnels have captured the imagination of the children involved, judging by the number of entries.”

The competition judges were Rob Warnes, planning and programmes director at Northern Rail; Kathryn O’Brien, director of customer services at First Transpennine Express; Councillor David Chadwick; and Beth Dale, scheme project manager at Network Rail.