BTS CHAIR: JOHN CORCORAN
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest update on what the British Tunnelling Society (BTS) Committee, and its Chair, have been involved in since the last update, and what future events are planned.
I will start by welcoming our three new BTS Committee members, Mark Leggett, Arabel Vilas, and Jon Austin. Seven candidates applied and selection was decided by Society member votes. They will remain on Committee for a minimum three-year term. Every year, three new members join the Committee, and three leave. I encourage all of you to consider joining. We want to truly reflect the range of people in our industry. It is very rewarding, offering a chance to make new friends, and have your voice heard.
For me, Committee members should reflect our tunnelling industry, with its increasing diversity. That includes operatives, supervisors, contractors, designers, and clients, together with the many associated professionals required to utilise underground space for infrastructure.
Congratulations go to Dr Keith Bowers, who received the James Clark Medal at the BTS June evening meeting. Keith is extremely well known in the industry and is a deserved winner. Steve Parker gave an excellent address on Keith’s achievements, prior to presentation of the medal. Keith was Head of Tunnels for London Underground for many years, and now is Project Director for tunnels on Lower Thames Crossing.
At the BTS Dinner this year, in late May, we included slides on those from our tunnelling industry who had passed away in the last year. Sadly, Douglas Parkes is now added to that list, who died at the age of 94. Douglas was twice Chair of the BTS Committee and had a long and distinguished career in tunnelling. Bill Grose represented the BTS at Douglas’s funeral.
A big thanks to all those who helped to organise this year’s Annual Dinner, held once again at The Brewery. Feedback has been extremely positive, everyone really enjoying the opportunity to meet up with past, present, and future colleagues.
I was very pleased to share the Chair’s table with Sid Kaul and Chris Prince, the winner and runner-up of this year’s Harding Prize Competition. Also on our table was Annie May Goodman, the winner of the BTS Young Members’ (BTSYM) Doug Allenby medal. And, of course, Divik, who did his usual great work in sorting out all the table bookings and seating.
It was lovely to see John Scholey appear on the screen. He recorded his video a few days before the Dinner. It was typical John style, and I really hope he will be able to attend in person at our next Dinner, booked at the Brewery for 8 May 2026. I recently visited John and Liz at their house in Tunbridge Wells. He is undergoing treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma with regular stays at Maidstone Hospital where he undergoes chemotherapy, then a ‘virtual ward’ at home, and he is also under the care of Kings College Hospital. John, as you’d expect, remains in very good spirits.
The Committee currently has nine elected members, who are allocated to the various sub-committees to best channel their efforts to support the Society members. John Kinnear chairs the BTS Evening Presentations subcommittee. We are always on the lookout for interesting topics, ideally a blend of design and lessons from construction. We are, after all, a learned Society and keen to spread learning throughout our industry.
We have recently been in negotiations with the Institution of Civil Engineers, the use of whose facilities we pay for. We have decided, despite the cost, to retain the use of the Telford Theatre for our evening lectures. I’d like to thank all the sponsors of these evening presentations, providing free drink and food after the lecture, and all of which go towards making our evening presentations extremely enjoyable events.
A big thank you also to the ‘BTS at 50’ subcommittee, now chaired by Sarah Langley. They continue to promote the ‘50 years of British Tunnelling’ book. Mike McConnell has been doing great work visiting many universities and schools, presenting copies of the book. The intent is to both forge links between colleges and industry, and to encourage young people into our tunnelling industry. This is exactly the vision Ken Spiby had when he first decided to write the book. It is a legacy to our industry and the people who work in it.
Another of the sub-committees is Education. Well done to Bethan Haig, Nick Lock and Benoit Jones for arranging the all-day event at Nottingham University on 26 June. Many speakers from the industry gave presentations, together with lecturers from Cambridge, Birmingham, Cork, Warwick, St George London, UCL and Imperial College.
I was very impressed with the facilities universities can offer for research projects. The overall message I heard is that universities are very keen to carry out research, particularly for PhD work. What they need from our industry are topics that need studying, and data. For example, Dr Henry Pairaudeau from Warwick University is currently conducting concrete trials to determine the best mix design for an extruded concrete tunnel lining.
Richard Sutherden, the Chair of the BTS Net Zero subcommittee, gave a presentation on the progress the group has made to date. The group is made up from clients, consultants, and contractors, and meets on a regular basis. Action Groups, each have a lead person, are: Information transfer; Carbon calculation and measurement; Design; Materials; Mapping PAS2080 to tunnelling; Geothermal energy from Tunnels; Overall step by step guidance (a route map for clients).
The BTS Design & Construction course has just been held at Warwick University. This is five-day course was expertly arranged by Mike King. Again, many experts from our industry presented to the delegates. Attending last year, I was impressed by the feedback. I remember several people said the course was a rite of passage for colleagues in their organisation. Social events also feature in the evenings.
There are social events planned for every evening, including sports events. On Wednesday, there is the evening dinner, and I am delighted that Helen Nattrass will be giving a speech. Helen is always highly entertaining. The industry guest will be Katherine McAlpine, who is director of the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe. This hidden gem of a museum celebrates The Thames Tunnel, the world’s oldest underwater tunnel, opened in 1843. It is well worth a visit.
The next BTS course is H&S, at the ICE, over 24-25 Nov.
I wish you all a good summer holiday, and as the BTS Annual Dinner’s Industry Guest, Mick Loughran, said during the Grace, “look after yourselves.” Our next evening presentation is on 18 September, which will be a combined evening presentation with the BTSYM, the topic being exploratory works at the Coire Glas hydro project. I look forward to seeing you there.
BTSYM CHAIR: ARABEL VILAS SERÍN
The past five months as Chair of the British Tunnelling Society Young Members (BTSYM) have been intense, rewarding, and full of positive momentum. Since stepping into this role, I’ve focused on three key goals: deepening our collaboration with the main BTS; expanding our geographical reach across the UK and internationally; and, fostering a culture of inclusivity, innovation, and professional growth for all young engineers—whether members or not.
To support this vision, I restructured the subcommittees to include new sub-groups on Sustainability & Innovation, Diversity & Inclusion, and Industry & Partnerships, and also appointed regional reps in Leeds, Birmingham, and Manchester.
We’ve worked hard to make our events more accessible, hybrid, and welcoming—reviving in-person attendance post-Covid and connecting with young professionals and students across the country.
We have also strengthened ties with academic institutions and launched meaningful partnerships with organisations, such as Harris Futures, Inspire Education Group, and the BGA Early Careers Group.
From hands-on outreach in schools to international webinars, new lectures, and joint events, we’re proud of what we’ve achieved—and there’s still much more to come.
We closed out the Spring season with a strong presence at the World Tunnel Congress (WTC) in Sweden, where several BTSYM members participated in Working Group (WG) meetings and attended technical sessions and international networking. I had the honour of representing the UK in the ITA Young Members (ITAym) Steering Committee elections, which was an exciting opportunity to connect with young tunnellers from across the globe.
I also joined the WG 23 meeting on Education and Training—an inspiring platform to share ideas on how to improve learning pathways and skill-building in our sector. It was equally encouraging to see Asil Zaidi and Negin Dolatraftarhaghighi representing the UK in other WGs, helping to ensure that both BTSYM and BTS continue to have a strong, long-term presence in international discussions. They join Thomas Macgowan, former BTSYM Chair and now a member of the ITAym Steering Committee, in reinforcing the UK’s meaningful engagement at the global level.
Back home, the May workshop was ‘Connecting the Dots – A Tunnel Engineering Knowledge Framework’, delivered by Si Shen. It was a major success, with engineers eagerly explore the topic through his freestyle, structured, accessible approach. The session sparked great interest across all levels of experience—from students to senior professionals.
Later in the month, SENER delivered a technically rich lecture on the Los Angeles Outfall Project, presented by Alfonso Navarro and Jorge Salas. Their insights into segmental lining design under squeezing ground conditions sparked great engagement.
We’ve also made space for relaxation and connection. In June, Avantika Raj, our Social, Media and Communications’ Chair, led a summer social in Regent’s Park, London. The turnout was fantastic, and attendees enjoyed casual football, rounders, and great company.
Our Youth Outreach and Education Committee, led by Solomon Ekperuoh, has been working tirelessly. Recent highlights include presentations at Harris Academy Crystal Palace and STEMFest at Northolt High School in collaboration with HS2 and QPR. At the University of Cambridge, we co-hosted a fascinating session on Switzerland’s Deep Geological Repository, delving into the underground construction and geotechnical complexities of nuclear waste storage. Several more outreach events are in the pipeline, including a July webinar with the Nigerian Tunnelling Association Young Members, where Hashmi Sohawon will present on pipejacking and ground movement analysis from the Rye Meads project.
Our Innovation & Sustainability Committee, led by Negin, continues to grow in ambition and impact. Since launching, it has run a series of successful ‘Sustainability Series’ events with BGA-ECG and EGGECG, exploring topics such as lifecycle-based design and low carbon construction. A major highlight was our lecture on BREEAM Infrastructure in tunnelling, which brought together practical experience and sustainability standards. To build on this momentum, the committee has launched a Sustainability Questionnaire to capture a broad range of perspectives on how sustainability is currently being addressed in tunnelling. The survey is open to everyone—whether you’re a student, graduate, contractor, designer, academic, or client representative.
As part of this broader push for inclusivity, we’re also proud to highlight the incredible work being led by Tasnia Khanom, the first-ever Chair of our newly formed Diversity, Inclusion and Women in Tunnelling Committee. In its very first term, this group has already made a powerful impact—shaping meaningful cultural celebrations and awareness-raising campaigns across the year. This group has been instrumental in shaping meaningful cultural celebrations and awareness-raising campaigns across the year. From helping deliver our International Women’s Day event and collaborating on Neurodiversity Week with the BGA-ECG, to now coordinating a special Pride Month celebration in partnership with BGA-ECG, the subcommittee is creating much-needed space for diverse voices and perspectives in our industry. Tasnia’s passion and vision are helping to shape this subcommittee into a vibrant, proactive force within BTSYM—she is laying the foundation for a lasting legacy, bringing fresh ideas that speak to the lived experiences of our members and helping to foster a truly inclusive and representative tunnelling community.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to welcome Maxam on 18 September for a workshop on Drill & Blast Design and Construction Techniques, followed by a joint BTS-BTSYM lecture from Strabag on the Coire Glas project —my final event as Chair of BTSYM, which promises to be a special one. As a mining engineer, there’s something especially satisfying about ending the year with a bit of explosive— quite literally! As we used to say back at the School of Mines in Madrid: “Ante la duda, voladura”—or in other words, “When in doubt, blow it up.”
We’re going big for our signature event: the BTSYM Conference 2025, on 24 October at Arup’s London office. Sponsorship and abstract submissions are now open—don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to one of the most dynamic and inclusive events in the tunnelling calendar. More information is available on our website: https://britishtunnelling.com/btsym/btsymconference- 2025.
And, finally, just a friendly reminder: if you’re submitting an abstract, please make sure you’ve got all the necessary permissions and NDAs from your client or contractor sorted well ahead of time—so we can share your technical content smoothly and confidently. You’ll find more details on our website.
If you’d like to get involved, collaborate, or simply learn more about what we do, we’d love to hear from you at the contact details below. Drop us a line.
Wishing everyone a wonderful summer!
Past lectures via YouTube playlist:
https://britishtunnelling.com/btsym/btsym-%20events/past-bts-&-btsym-lectures-on-youtube.
