Residents invited to vote on naming of two new HS2 tunnel boring machines from shortlist of five famous women from Ealing

High speed rail network HS2 is inviting residents across Ealing to help chose the names of its next two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) which will be digging HS2 tunnels under London.

During early 2024, the two new machines will be used by HS2 to construct the Northolt Tunnel East travelling through Brent and Ealing. The TBMs will set off towards Greenpark Way in Greenford, travelling 3.4miles from HS2’s Victoria Road site in Acton, near to new Old Oak Common station.

As with previous TBMs, they will be given names and as per HS2’s convention, will be named after influential women.

HS2 is asking the public to vote for the two names from a shortlist of five with connections to Ealing. Voting is open from 21 August 2023 until 4 September 2023 and details on how to vote, can be found here.

According to HS2:  “TBM naming helps communities remember and celebrate great local woman from all walks of life.”

The names on the shortlist are:

• Amy Barbour-James (1906 -1988) – Amy was born in Acton to Guyanese parents and was active in the civil rights movement. She was involved in the African Progress Union and the League of Coloured Peoples, becoming secretary of the latter in 1942.
• Lady Anne Byron (1792 – 1860) – Lady Byron was an educational reformer and philanthropist. In 1834 she established the Ealing Grove School – the first school for the working classes, in an era when education was mainly for the wealthy.
• Brigid Brophy (1929 – 1995) – Ealing born Brigid was a British writer and campaigner whose work focused on social reform, homosexual parity, animal rights and humanism. She helped establish the Public Lending Right, allowing authors to claim a payment every time their book was borrowed from a public library.
• Emily Sophia Taylor (1872 – 1956) – Emily was a midwife, providing services for women who could not afford care, and became Ealing’s first female mayor in 1938. She was an active member of the Education Committee and the Child Welfare Committee and helped establish the Perivale Maternity Hospital in 1937.
• Susan Mary Smee (1859 – 1949) – Susan became Acton’s first female mayor in 1924, the first Justice of Peace and the first curator of Gunnersbury Park Museum. She is described as a pioneer who helped other women to follow her example.

The two names voted for will then be displayed on their respective TBMs and before launch there will be a TBM ceremony blessing which will feature a statue of St Barabara, the patron saint of tunnelling.

HS2’s head of community engagement, Maddelyn Sutton said: “As HS2 construction begins to reach its peak, we are preparing to launch our next duo of tunnel boring machines in London. Giving the TBMs names with local connections is a great way for us to celebrate the achievements of women and for the local community to get involved in this once in a generation infrastructure project.”