Thames Tideway: Electric Hydrofraise

An innovative, electrically-powered Hydrofraise walling machine. It will help dig the shaft for the main tunnel at Tideway’s Chambers Wharf site in Bermondsey. It runs off mains electricity rather than diesel.

Key challenges and how were these overcome:

• The power pack came from the Netherlands, the machine comes from France and its working in the UK, so there are different regulations. To make it UK compliant was a big challenge, but involving UK electricians at an early stage ensure that this was overcome.

Key success factors:

• As well as being environmentally friendly, it is also quieter when it is in use.