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HS2: Construction begins on tunnel from west London to Euston
Work has started to dig the tunnel that will take the HS2 rail line from west London to Euston in the capital’s centre.
The first of two boring machines was switched on by Rail Minister Lord Hendy and Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Prime Minister, at Old Oak Common on Tuesday.
The 190m-long boring machine is named Madeleine, after Madeleine Nobbs, the former president of the Women’s Engineering Society.
It is expected to take about 18 months for the machine to complete the 4.5-mile journey from Old Oak Common in west London.
Madeleine was built in Germany and transported to the UK in parts. A 750-tonne crane lifted the components into an underground box at one end of the station, where it was reassembled.
Madeleine’s companion machine is named Karen, after Karen Harrison, the first female train driver in the UK, who was based out of the Old Oak Common depot. Karen will be launched in the coming months.
The machines will excavate and construct the tunnel as they move, slotting concrete segments into place. The tunnel will reach depths of 50 metres.
At the launch of the machines, Jones said: “There’s nothing boring about tunnel boring.
“We’re boosting the links between our big cities across the country to create more opportunities for people to trade, meet and socialise with each other, turning the corner on years of decline.”
Lord Hendy said the machines were “an engineering marvel” and “brings HS2’s journey to Euston another step closer to reality”.
HS2 has been beleaguered by delays and setbacks and the cost has snowballed to at least £80bn.
There have been reports the project could cost £100bn, even after the legs to Manchester and Leeds were scrapped. A revised cost and schedule for HS2 will be published this year.
Under the previous government, there were doubts over whether HS2 would terminate in Euston due to funding costs. In 2023, work on a new station at Euston was put on pause.
Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said extending the high-speed rail project from Old Oak Common to Euston would be reliant on private investment.
However, in her Budget in October the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, committed to the funding required to begin tunnelling work to Euston.
It is still not clear exactly what the station will look like, or when it will be completed.
A new body, the Euston Delivery Company, is due to lead delivery of what the government says will be an “affordable and integrated transport hub”. This new body has yet to be established.
The government says taking HS2 to Euston is “essential to unlocking the project’s full economic potential”.
One of the most expensive aspects of HS2 has been the need for tunnels. The track from London to Birmingham needs to be as straight as possible to allow for high speed.
Objections from local residents and the need to protect areas of outstanding natural beauty through which the route runs have pushed up costs.
The first phase of the project was initially scheduled to open by the end of this year.
This was pushed back to between 2029 and 2033, but it has since been confirmed that that deadline will also be missed.
Molecules that can capture heat could be a useful technology to decarbonise heating.
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NEW DELHI: The West Asia conflict is pushing govt to look at a faster transition towards renewable energy, including the possibility of increasing ethanol blending in petrol from 20-25%, although in a calibrated manner. This will come along with increased refining capacity within the country, so that there is a buffer in the system and greater domestic resilience, those familiar with the discussions said, pointing out that sustaining refineries at 100% capacity is not sustainable.While Barmer refinery has begun operations, expansion at Numaligarh is underway and work on integrated refineries on the west coast is also under focus. Apart from a mega refinery in Maharashtra, a new facility in Gujarat is also planned.Officials said rising use of renewables, biofuels and hydrogen in the energy mix was no longer just an environmental issue, but a strategic necessity in a situation like the present one, where the military conflict in West Asia has disrupted global energy supplies, triggering a supply crisis and a surge in oil and gas prices.According to officials, 20% ethanol blending has helped India save 4.5 crore barrels of crude annually and reduce foreign exchange outflow by around ₹1.5 lakh crore so far. Given the concerns over fuel efficiency and impact on vehicles, govt is expected to take a gradual approach that addresses the anxiety on ethanol blending. The third pillar on energy is expanding the strategic petroleum reserves.
A cup of coffee and strawberry frosted donut with sprinkles at a Dunkin’ Donuts location in Los Angeles, Sept. 6, 2017.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Dunkin’ and Buffalo Wild Wings owner Inspire Brands has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, the company announced on Friday.
If Inspire goes public, it will be one of the biggest-ever restaurant offerings. Private equity firm Roark Capital, which backs Inspire, is reportedly seeking a valuation of roughly $20 billion.
Inspire was founded in 2018 through a merger between Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings. Acquisitions followed: Sonic Drive-In later in 2018 and Jimmy John’s in 2019. And in 2020, Inspire took Dunkin’ and its sister chain Baskin Robbins private in an $11 billion deal.
Across those six chains, Inspire has more than 33,300 restaurants worldwide and $33.4 billion in annual sales, according to the company’s website.
Inspire isn’t the only restaurant company pursuing an IPO. Last month, Jersey Mike’s also announced that it had confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The market for initial public offerings has been tepid, although that could change later this year. Market volatility, economic uncertainty and recent poor performance among IPO stocks has led to a backlog of listings.
However, several blockbuster IPOs, such as the SpaceX offering that could value the company at more than $1 trillion, are anticipated in the coming months.
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