{"id":20498,"date":"2026-09-16T08:26:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498"},"modified":"2026-09-16T08:26:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:26:25","slug":"bts-september-lecture-national-grids-thames-power-tunnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498","title":{"rendered":"BTS September lecture: National Grid\u2019s Thames power tunnel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"drop-cap\">The British Tunnelling Society\u2019s September lecture tomorrow evening will focus on National Grid\u2019s Grain to Tilbury Tunnel and the vertical shaft sinking machine (VSM) used on the project.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Holt from National Grid and Mikel Goirigolzarri from Ferrovial BEMO JV will provide an overview of the project in Kent, its construction, associated challenges and the solutions, the VSM and lessons learnt.<\/p>\n<p>The project \u2013 part of the Great Grid Upgrade \u2013 is delivering a new 2.2km, 400 kV cable tunnel beneath the River Thames between Tilbury and Gravesend. It replaces the 1960s Thames Cable Tunnel and reinforces electricity transmission between Kent and Essex.<\/p>\n<p>The 15m-diameter Herrenknecht VSM \u2013 the largest in Europe \u2013 sank the 48m-deep launch shaft in Tilbury and the retrieval shaft in Gravesend.<\/p>\n<p>Last month TBM Caroline, a 4.7m-diameter Herrenknecht mixshield machine, reached the halfway mark on the tunnel drive.<\/p>\n<p>The lecture will be held at the Institution of Civil Engineers, One Great George St, London, SW1P 3AA at 18:00 (GMT+1) of for the live streaming click\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/events.zoom.us\/ev\/ApLgzzKxB9hkBMYYwnH3JPh96FRqVczqwSWi1oHBSBRHKpnCWf9v~AjOYJh_M9auAdOkfKkLV6iHzWbOnv3hpgm_kRzl948ZcwY4aGL3ui3_iOw\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The British Tunnelling Society\u2019s September lecture tomorrow evening will focus on National Grid\u2019s Grain to Tilbury Tunnel and the vertical shaft sinking machine (VSM) used on the project. Chris Holt from National Grid and Mikel Goirigolzarri from Ferrovial BEMO JV will provide an overview of the project in Kent, its construction, associated challenges and the solutions, the VSM and lessons learnt. The project \u2013 part of the Great Grid Upgrade \u2013 is delivering a new 2.2km, 400 kV cable tunnel beneath the River Thames between Tilbury and Gravesend. It replaces the 1960s Thames Cable Tunnel and reinforces electricity transmission between [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":20499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[5552,1551,5553],"class_list":["post-20498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-british-tunnelling-societys","tag-national-grid","tag-thames-power-tunnel","post--single"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BTS September Lecture to Focus on National Grid\u2019s Thames Power Tunnel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BTS September lecture will cover National Grid\u2019s 2.2km Thames power tunnel, VSM shaft sinking, TBM Caroline and key construction challenges.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BTS September Lecture to Focus on National Grid\u2019s Thames Power Tunnel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BTS September lecture will cover National Grid\u2019s 2.2km Thames power tunnel, VSM shaft sinking, TBM Caroline and key construction challenges.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tunnelingworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-16T08:26:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rosebell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rosebell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"rosebell\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba\"},\"headline\":\"BTS September lecture: National Grid\u2019s Thames power tunnel\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-16T08:26:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498\"},\"wordCount\":177,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Image-1-11.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"British Tunnelling Society\u2019s\",\"National Grid\",\"Thames power tunnel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Events\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498\",\"name\":\"BTS September Lecture to Focus on National Grid\u2019s Thames Power Tunnel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Image-1-11.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-16T08:26:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba\"},\"description\":\"BTS September lecture will cover National Grid\u2019s 2.2km Thames power tunnel, VSM shaft sinking, TBM Caroline and key construction challenges.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Image-1-11.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/Image-1-11.avif\",\"width\":651,\"height\":433,\"caption\":\"National Grid Thames power tunnel\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20498#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BTS September lecture: National Grid\u2019s Thames power tunnel\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tunnelingworld\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba\",\"name\":\"rosebell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"rosebell\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BTS September Lecture to Focus on National Grid\u2019s Thames Power Tunnel","description":"BTS September lecture will cover National Grid\u2019s 2.2km Thames power tunnel, VSM shaft sinking, TBM Caroline and key construction challenges.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BTS September Lecture to Focus on National Grid\u2019s Thames Power Tunnel","og_description":"BTS September lecture will cover National Grid\u2019s 2.2km Thames power tunnel, VSM shaft sinking, TBM Caroline and key construction challenges.","og_url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498","og_site_name":"Tunnelingworld","article_published_time":"2026-09-16T08:26:25+00:00","author":"rosebell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rosebell","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498"},"author":{"name":"rosebell","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba"},"headline":"BTS September lecture: National Grid\u2019s Thames power tunnel","datePublished":"2026-09-16T08:26:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498"},"wordCount":177,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-11.avif","keywords":["British Tunnelling Society\u2019s","National Grid","Thames power tunnel"],"articleSection":["Events"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498","url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498","name":"BTS September Lecture to Focus on National Grid\u2019s Thames Power Tunnel","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-11.avif","datePublished":"2026-09-16T08:26:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba"},"description":"BTS September lecture will cover National Grid\u2019s 2.2km Thames power tunnel, VSM shaft sinking, TBM Caroline and key construction challenges.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-11.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Image-1-11.avif","width":651,"height":433,"caption":"National Grid Thames power tunnel"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20498#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BTS September lecture: National Grid\u2019s Thames power tunnel"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/","name":"Tunnelingworld","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba","name":"rosebell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rosebell"},"url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20500,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20498\/revisions\/20500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}