Strabag has a contract to supply 36,000 precast concrete segments to Costain Skanska Strabag joint venture (SCS JV) for the twin bored tunnels under London from HS2’s new Old Oak Common station to Greenpark Way running underneath Northolt.
Strabag has chosen an old oil rig fabrication site in Hartlepool as the best place to fulfil the contract, right at the other end of the country.
Construction of the new factory will begin in January 2022 and the production of the tunnel segments will start in December 2022.
All 36,000 tunnel segments – weighing seven tonnes each – will be transported from the Hartlepool factory entirely by rail, with the first freight train delivery arriving at the Willesden Euro terminal logistics hub in April 2023.
The decision to cast the tunnel lining 250 miles away is in stark contrast to arrangements enjoyed by Align, the joint venture of Bouygues, VolkerFitzpatrick and Sir Robert McAlpine which is building the twin-bore tunnels under the Chilterns, northwest of London. Being on the outskirts of the capital, Align has the benefit of space and has built a precast factory on site, more like 250 yards from the tunnel mouth than 250 miles.
Strabag’s decision to set up its yard so far away, however, is being portrayed as a good thing – for spreading the cash around the country. HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson said it showed “building back better in action.”
HS2 chief commercial officer Ruth Todd said: “The decision to manufacture the segments not only in the UK, but in a new facility in the northeast, is another demonstration of how HS2 is having a positive impact on regional economies across the UK and helping the country to build back better after the pandemic.”
SCS JV managing director James Richardson said: “Tunnel segment rings will be produced in Hartlepool and loaded on to freight trains and delivered by rail to our newly opened logistics hub at Willesden Junction. These huge tunnel segments, each weighing seven tonnes, will be then transported to the tunnel boring machine. This is a game-changer in how we move forward in the construction industry and is a significant step towards net zero carbon emissions in transport."
Not all of SCS’s tunnel lining segments are being produced so far away. Spanish company Pacadar has a contract to deliver 58,000 precast concrete segments for the West Ruislip-Greenpark Way tunnel. These are being made at its factory on the Isle of Grain in north Kent, less than 50 miles away.
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