HS2 Limited, the company building the high-speed railway between London and Birmingham, has launched the next phase of tunnelling on the enormous infrastructure project. The first of six tunnel boring machines that will dig over 26 miles (41.6 km) of tunnels under London. HS2 Limited CEO, Mark Thurston, was joined by local teacher Sushila Hirani, after whom the first operational tunnel boring machine is named, as it begins on its five-mile (eight kilometres) journey from the West London site.