Tunnel: the machine 200 feet below London breaks through to complete 20 mile long tunnels which will power the capital (Picture: National Grid)
Mark Blunden @_MarkBlunden26 March 2015
Miners digging 200 feet beneath London have completed a tunnel that will keep the capital’s lights on for the next 120 years.
National Grid announced the breakthrough in its four-year, £1 billion London Power Tunnels project, and released a picture of the boring machine appearing at Kensal Green, above.
Two tunnels, each three metres wide, have now been excavated and stretch for 20 miles. The first runs north from Wimbledon to connect at Kensal Green.
A second tunnel runs west to east from Willesden to Hackney and links to the first at Kensal Green.
Installation of 400,000-volt cables is under way, with the first section due to go live this year.
The tunnels will also bring renewable energy from the Thames estuary into the main network.
