The Chiltern Tunnel North and South Portals have been specially engineered with perforated concrete hoods to prevent the possibility of sudden changes in air pressure and a resulting ‘sonic boom’ caused by trains entering and exiting the 10-mile-long tunnel at high speeds. Delivered by our construction partner, Align, the North Portal was built several months faster than the South Portal, drawing on lessons learnt from the South Portal. The formwork for the walls of the North Portal was set up in panels on rails, the steel reinforcement was assembled on the ground, lifted and placed in the preset formwork ready for concrete to be poured, and the walls on both sides of the Portal were advanced concurrently. The formwork for the curved roof was similarly set up on rails, steel reinforcement pre-assembled on the ground and the roof panels constructed sequenced with the advancing wall construction. The use of rails significantly reduced the number of shutter lifts required, reducing the risk of down time as a result of high wind speeds.

Network Rail and the Mining Remediation Authority are currently undertaking further modelling work, so have not yet submitted applications for all of the necessary permits to undertake the repair works in Bransty Tunnel. This modelling work is expected to be completed by the end of July 2026 and applications for the remaining permits will hopefully then be able to be submitted, depending on the outcome of the modelling.

Network Rail and the Mining Remediation Authority are aiming to complete the modelling work to assess the impact of the long-term solution for Bransty Tunnel on Whitehaven Harbour and the surrounding area by the end of July 2026.

Network Rail has set up a dedicated Whitehaven Recovery Taskforce to address flooding and structural issues at Bransty Tunnel linked to historic mining activity. Detailed inspections are complete, and a permanent repair solution has been independently verified and is ready to be delivered.

Network Rail is working closely with the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency, in relation to the environmental permitting requirements, so that water pollution issues that are leading to the issues in Whitehaven Harbour can be addressed alongside the repairs to Bransty Tunnel. Construction work is expected to take six to nine months to complete once the necessary permits have been secured.

The Department for Transport (DfT) requires HS2 Ltd to prioritise the health, safety, and wellbeing of its workforce and the public. Safety performance is closely tracked and monitored, and, where performance falls short, remedial action is required. DfT officials work closely with HS2 Ltd to review safety performance, and overall health and safety indicators are reported to and discussed at the Programme Performance Board, attended by DfT and HS2 Ltd senior officials.

Through HS2’s “Safe at Heart” strategy, safety is embedded into all decision-making and operational activities. In all sectors, including the London Tunnels, stringent processes are in place to protect all workers, including occupational health assessments and strict training requirements. Across the programme, comprehensive risk assessments and control processes are regularly reviewed, updated, and assured by HS2 Ltd and its supply chain partners.

To safeguard against anti-competitive practices, HS2 Ltd is subject to and compliant with public procurement legislation and Government policy. This includes publishing direct contract opportunities and clearly defined evaluation criteria to ensure fair treatment of suppliers and equality of opportunity. In accordance with relevant regulations, Conflicts of Interest are formally declared and managed appropriately, and appropriate oversight and documented justification is required for all procurement decisions.

Recruitment practices are governed through individual contractual requirements and form part of wider contract management. HS2 Ltd sets clear expectations for contractors and sub-contractors, particularly in relation to safety. Its whistleblowing policy encourages individuals to raise concerns about unsafe, unethical, or fraudulent behaviour, which are then investigated by an independent team, in line with relevant legislation.

Network Rail has set up a dedicated Whitehaven Recovery Taskforce to address flooding and structural issues at Bransty Tunnel linked to historic mining activity. Detailed inspections are complete, and a permanent repair solution has been independently verified and is ready to be delivered.

Network Rail is working closely with the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency, in relation to the environmental permitting requirements, so that water pollution issues that are leading to the issues in Whitehaven Harbour can be addressed alongside the repairs to Bransty Tunnel. Construction work is expected to take six to nine months to complete once the necessary permits have been secured.

Network Rail is working closely with the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency to secure the necessary environmental permits, so that water pollution issues that are leading to the issues in Whitehaven Harbour can be addressed alongside the repairs to Bransty Tunnel.

As part of this permitting process, Network Rail and the Mining Remediation Authority are currently modelling various complex scenarios to assess the impact of the long-term solution on Whitehaven Harbour and the surrounding area. Once all parties have understood and approved the water quality impacts, work to repair Bransty Tunnel can begin.

Network Rail is responsible for the delivery of works at Bransty Tunnel, and my officials are supporting Network Rail on this matter.

The issue at Bransty Tunnel was identified when Network Rail, as part of routine planned maintenance and renewals, undertook ground investigations that revealed unstable conditions within the tunnel resulting from historic mining activity in the area. This is linked to the ochreous water discharge at Whitehaven harbour.

Given the remnants of the mining activity, and large amounts of flowing water, a much larger, more complex package of work than was originally anticipated is needed to rectify these poor conditions, leading to the extended closure of the tunnel.

A dedicated Network Rail Whitehaven Recovery Taskforce is now in place to address the flooding and structural issues at Bransty Tunnel linked to the historic mining activity. Detailed inspections are complete, and a permanent £49 million repair solution has been independently verified and is ready to be delivered. This includes water management, tunnel stabilisation, and subsequent track and drainage renewal.

Although Network Rail has agreed to progress, agreement is needed with the Environment Agency and the Mining Remediation Authority before on-site work can commence due to environmental and regulatory requirements. DfT Operator’s rail environment team is supporting this.

Network Rail is working closely with the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency to align the necessary environmental consents so that water contamination issues can be addressed alongside the repairs.

Network Rail will provide a further public update once work can begin. Delivery is expected to take six to nine months.

Sustrans (now called Walk, Wheel, Cycle Trust) produced a report for Bradford Council that assessed the Benefit Cost Ratios (BCR) of the active travel route options. The options included routes that would use the Queensbury Tunnel. The report made clear that the BCR scored for the routes were all very close indicating that none of them represented significantly better value for money over the others. Funding for an Active Travel route is the responsibility of the Local Authority. Therefore, without a clear commitment from either Bradford Council or West Yorkshire Combined Authority to provide funding for an active travel route utilising the tunnel, the difficult decision was taken to close the tunnel, subject to the appropriate planning approvals.

Norwegian style drill and blast tunnelling is generally suited to continuous hardrock geology that is not characteristic of most interurban routes in the UK. Instead, the latter frequently involves tunnelling through highly variable ground conditions including clay, weak, weathered or fractured rock and sands and gravels submerged in high-pressure ground water. Modern tunnelboring machines (TBMs) are able to cope with such variable geology and prevent the excavation face of the tunnel catastrophically collapsing before the tunnel is lined with concrete.

That said, the choice of tunnelling method will depend very much on local ground conditions for each major road or rail project. TBMs are frequently tailor-made to suit those ground conditions. The department would always look to tunnelling experts to recommend the most cost-effective method for a particular tunnel and we would not rule out drill-and-blast if it was through suitable rock.

For most tunnelling projects existing statutory consenting routes remain available, and the use of a Private Bill would only be considered where there is a specific and compelling justification.