Beware high-speed tunnels under London’s ‘soft’ soil

Published: 29 July, 2010

• THOSE who claim that there will be no disturbance to Primrose Hill residents from tunnelling and later high speed trains running 20 metres under their homes (Doubt over ‘noiseless’ high speed rail, June 24) are talking utter nonsense.

Those who suggest that such claims are “too good to be true” are right.

The London Tunnel of High Speed One (formerly the Channel Tunnel Rail Link) runs at a depth of 35 metres, about 25 metres away from the front of my home and the ground-borne noise and vibration are extremely intrusive. 

HS2 appear to be proposing to run similar tunnels directly under Primrose Hill residents’ homes at little more than half that depth. 

Further, HS2 claim that the proposed tunnels would be similar to those of HS1 “'in construction and design”. 

For the sake of local residents I sincerely hope this does not prove to be the case. 

The tunnelling method used for HS1 is fine for tunnelling through rock, but unsuitable for London’s soft sub-soil.

The same method was used for boring out the Heathrow Express line and in October 1994 there was a collapse with very little warning. 

Fortunately there were no buildings above the point where this collapse occurred, but there is no guarantee that Primrose Hill residents will be that lucky. 

My advice to them, based on painful experience, is to fight this proposal tooth and nail.

PETER HUNTER
Mildmay Grove North, N1