This is a joint meeting of the British Tunnelling Society (BTS) and the British Geotechnical Association (BGA).
Britain’s new high-speed line, HS2, is a vital investment in Britain’s economic future and the foundation of a modern rail system. It will play a key role in renewing our railways, making services reliable and putting passengers first.
The new line will free up space on the existing network to meet growing passenger demand and create capacity for local, regional and freight services. It will improve connections, take lorries off roads, and be a catalyst for economic opportunities. With a journey time of just 49 minutes, HS2 will bring the UK’s two biggest cities, London and Birmingham, closer.
The 140-mile route includes 27 miles of twin-bore tunnel and more than 4 miles of cut and cover tunnel, comprising 19% of the route. With tunnelling approaching 75% complete and the project at peak construction, join our speakers from HS2’s tunnel engineering team as they:
Following the lecture, there will be a networking session with food and drinks in the ICE Kendal's bar, sponsored by Engineering Delivery Partner (EDP).
EDP is a joint venture comprised of Jacobs, AtkinsRéalis and Sener, providing client-side delivery partner support since 2016, through a multi-year framework contract. EDP operates as an integrated team alongside HS2, spanning programme development, design, engineering, and delivery.
The BTS is a dynamic group of tunnelling professionals sharing knowledge within the industry.
The BGA is the UK's main association for geotechnical engineers, organising key events annually.
HS2
head of ground engineering and tunnels
Martyn started his tunnelling career in 1996 on the Jubilee Line Extension at Green Park station as a shift engineer with Tarmac Construction where he learned the traditional art of square works and low-mechanised shield driven tunnelling in London Clay. Following a stint at WS Atkins Rail where he designed the pedestrian subway access to Gunwharf Quays through the railway arches at Portsmouth Harbour, Martyn joined Halcrow as part of the Rail Link Engineering consortium on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link at Stratford.
At RLE he was the designer of the Barrington Road Ventilation Shaft, numerous tunnel opening sets and vent adits along the London Tunnels route, and was part of the team working on ground movement assessments including the mitigation works for the undercrossing of the Central Line.
Returning to the Halcrow HQ in 2004, the company was consumed by CH2M and then Jacobs where Martyn became the Head of Discipline for Tunnels in 2017. He then worked on the DLR extension to Woolwich, the TWAO design for the Northern Line Extension to Battersea, the tender design for Stonehenge (twice in 2005 and 2020) and was the Designer’s Project Manager for the upgrade of the LUL station at Tottenham Court Road Station Upgrade from 2012 to 2020.
Martyn joined HS2 as Head of Tunnel Engineering in 2021 and became Head of Ground Engineering in 2024.
HS2
lead tunnel engineer
Mark is a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, who started out as a Geologist working in the offshore sector at SAGE Engineering. Working alongside Geotechnical Engineers inspired him to change career path and enrol in a Soil Mechanics Masters course at Imperial College in 1999. Following a year at Stent Foundations as a Design Engineer, Mark joined Halcrow and worked on numerous projects as a Geotechnical Engineer.
Since 2006, Mark has been involved on a number of UK major projects within the geotechnical and tunnelling sectors, notably at Crossrail, Thames Tideway and HS2. Mark’s involvement on HS2 was initially as a Project Manager during the Hybrid Bill, Ground Investigation and early Contractor Involvement phases.
In 2022, Mark returned to a technical role, in his current position as Lead Tunnel Engineer for HS2, where he specialises in the fields of instrumentation and monitoring; asset protection; ground movement; geology and GBR contractual management. Mark hopes to leave a legacy from the vast HS2 ground movement dataset with his initiative for a National Tunnelling Data Hub, which his team is presently working on with City-St George’s University.
A five-session course delivered by industry experts focusing on key aspects of contracts used in Civil Engineering.
Join the online audience and show your support for the two Yorkshire and Humber finalists, as they present their papers at the regional final of the Princess Royal Award for Emerging Engineers.
This series of events is aimed at those preparing for their Professional Review at Incorporated level and will provide advice and guidance on how to approach the communication task, against various industry specific themes.
