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    Thames tunnel job finishes early: schedule and grid capacity takeaways for engineers

    October 9, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Thames tunnel job finishes early: schedule and grid capacity takeaways for engineers

    First reported on The Construction Index

    30 Second Briefing

    Boring of National Grid’s new Thames cable tunnel for the Great Grid Upgrade has finished 49 days ahead of schedule, using a Herrenknecht tunnel boring machine driven by the Ferrovial Bemo joint venture. Early completion on this river crossing reduces programme risk for subsequent cable installation and commissioning, a critical path activity for reinforcing London’s high‑voltage transmission capacity.

    Technical Brief

    • TBM drive under a tidal river implies strict control of face pressure and settlement above.
    • Under-river alignment likely chosen to avoid congested urban corridors and deep existing utilities.
    • Cable tunnel configuration will allow future high-voltage circuits without repeated surface disruption.
    • Early handover of the civil tunnel section de-risks interface clashes with specialist cable contractors.
    • Programme float gained here can buffer later outages needed for grid connection works.
    • Similar urban river-crossing cable tunnels increasingly favour mechanised drives over immersed tubes or HDD.

    Our Take

    The 49‑day schedule gain on this Thames section of National Grid’s Great Grid Upgrade contrasts with several other UK power tunnel items in our database that report slippage at river crossings, suggesting the Ferrovial Bemo JV/Herrenknecht delivery model is performing at the favourable end of current benchmarks.

    Earlier coverage of the Grain–Tilbury TBM and Herrenknecht’s ‘Verena’ VSM shaft sinking shows National Grid standardising on paired mechanised shaft and Mixshield solutions for sub‑river cable routes, which is likely to de‑risk future crossings in the wider Great Grid Upgrade portfolio.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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