"In a notice to local residents, HS2 said it expects to launch the first tunnel boring machine (TBM Madeleine) from the Old Oak Common site in the week beginning 26th January 2026. This will dig the upline tunnel, which will carry trains towards London. The second downline tunnel for trains leaving London will start being dug about a month after the first TBM leaves Old Oak Common station."
"The first to get started is named after Madeleine Nobbs, the former president of the Women's Engineering Society. She lived from 1914 to 1970 and worked as a building services engineer. Originally, her father dissuaded her from pursuing a career in engineering, but after her mother met Adria Buchanan, the first woman to become a member of the Institute of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, she told her husband he could no longer refuse to support his daughter in her ambition."
"Karen, who lived between 1960 and 2011, drove trains out of the Old Oak Common depot, on the site of HS2's new superhub station, in the 1970s. A statue of Saint Barbara will also be placed at the tunnel mouth, as she is the patron saint of miners and tunnellers. Once started, the TBMs will progress up to 150 metres a week and are expected to complete their journey to the Euston Cavern by late June 2027."
Madeleine will launch from Old Oak Common in the week beginning 26 January 2026 to dig the upline tunnel toward Euston. The second TBM, Karen, will start about a month later to dig the downline tunnel. The staggered start aims to minimise ground settlement. Madeleine is named for engineer Madeleine Nobbs and Karen for driver Karen Harrison. A statue of Saint Barbara will be placed at the tunnel mouth. TBMs will progress up to 150 metres per week and are expected to reach the Euston Cavern in June 2027. Concrete tunnel rings are being manufactured in Hartlepool and delivered to Willesden depot.
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