TBM six, Mary, will drill a tunnel under the Thames from Plumstead to North Woolwich alongside her sister machine Sophia, who began tunnelling at the start of January. Mary, which is a slurry machine, is specially equipped to deal with the chalk, flint and wet ground conditions that she will encounter in southeast London, Crossrail stated.
TBM seven will be used on the drive from Pudding Mill Lane to Stepney Green, which will start in the summer. This is an EPB machine designed for the London clay found north of the River.
"Over 4km of tunnel has now been constructed on Crossrail," said Andy Mitchell, Crossrail programme director. "With tunnelling now well underway we are looking forward to welcoming our sixth and seventh tunnel boring machines to the project. Once we’ve unpacked and reassembled them, they’ll begin drilling yet more tunnels underneath the streets of the capital."
The final tunnel boring machine, TBM eight, will complete factory testing this summer, Crossrail stated.
