NFM Technologies is to design and build the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) for London’s Northern line extension.
The contract has been awarded by London Underground and contractor Ferrovial Agroman Laing O’Rourke Joint Venture (FLO), which plans to begin its tunnelling programme in summer 2016.
NFM will supply two TBMs with six-metre diameter cutting heads.
The £1 billion Northern line extension, which will be privately funded, will link Battersea with Kennington via Nine Elms. The new TBMs will complete a 2.5-kilometre tunnelling drive from Battersea to Kennington.
Mike Brown MVO, managing director of London Underground, said: “The award of this contract is a key milestone in the extension of the Northern line.
“We are well on track for the tunnelling work to commence next year and, once it’s complete, this vital addition to the Underground network will help develop the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea areas, supporting 24,000 new jobs and over 18,000 new homes.”
It is a shame that British companies do not have the engineering expertise to design and build such complicated items of machinery such as TBMs. Instead we have to rely upon either Germany (Herrenknecht AG for Crossrail) and France (NFM Technologies for the Northern Line).
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