Wendover Green Tunnel

The Wendover Green Tunnel will stretch for almost a mile (1.4 km) past the town alongside the existing railway and A413.

It is one of five green tunnels on the HS2 project. These are shallow tunnels that are built on the surface before being buried, with trees, plants, and shrubs planted on top to blend into the landscape.

Tunnel construction

Like the similar tunnels at Chipping Warden and Greatworth, the concrete tunnel segments are being made by Derbyshire-based Stanton Precast Ltd at their Ilkeston factory and assembled on site.

The excavation of the cutting and assembly of the tunnel is being delivered in stages with a temporary bridge in place to keep access open via Ellesborough Road. Once finished, it will be covered by earth, with trees, shrubs and hedgerows planted to fit in with the surrounding countryside.

More green tunnels

M-shaped double arch

Designed as an ‘m-shaped’ double arch, the tunnel will have separate halves for southbound and northbound trains – each one the height of two double-decker buses. Instead of casting the whole tunnel on site, five different concrete precast segments will be slotted together to achieve the double arch – one central pier, two side walls and two roof slabs. All 2,700 segments will be steel reinforced, with the largest weighing up to 43 tonnes.

Concrete and steel are some of the biggest sources of carbon emissions within the construction industry and by reducing the amount of both materials needed for the tunnel, this lighter-weight modular approach is expected to significantly reduce the amount of carbon embedded in the structure. It also requires less people and equipment on site, improving safety and reducing disruption for residents.

The tunnels will all have specially designed ‘porous portals’ at either end to reduce the noise of trains entering and exiting the tunnel, along with small portal buildings at the southern end to house safety and electrical equipment.