British Tunnelling Society

• Home

Welcome To The British Tunnelling Society

The BTS is a learned society of the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and has a membership of more than 700 individual and over 60 corporate members. It is one of the most vibrant gatherings of professional tunnellers in the world.

Formed in 1971 to provide a forum for meetings and discussion on tunnel related matters, the Society also publishes industry guidelines and codes of practice, conducts design and construction training courses, acknowledges excellence in tunnelling and supports scholarship and disseminates information via its monthly meetings.

BTS meetings are held at the Institution of Civil Engineers on the third Thursday of the month from September to June, starting a 5.30pm and retiring to the ICE bar downstairs at about 7.30pm. Presentations on a particular tunnel project or topic take place in the Telford lecture theatre and include a period of audience questions and answers. BTS meetings at 'the Civils' have the reputation of being the most well attended of all ICE and affiliated society meetings with networking in the bar afterwards being one of the busiest nights of the month. The gatherings are open to all including non-BTS members and there is no charge to attend. A report of each BTS meeting is published in the Society's official magazine Tunnels & Tunnelling International. Do join us if you have the opportunity.

As well as its regional activities, the BTS represents the UK on the assembly of the International Tunnelling Association. Members are actively involved in the ITA Working Groups and on the ITA executive. A BTS member, Martin Knights of the UK, is Immediate Past President of the ITA, having led the International Association with the support of the BTS for the three years to June 2010

The Society maintains a leading role in the development of the tunnelling industry both regionally and internationally to promote the safe, efficient, sustainable, and technically advanced design, construction and use of underground space. Individual and corporate members are working on underground projects of all types and purpose throughout the world. Members call on a long tradition of tunnelling in Britain and continue industry-wide development of this vital field of civil engineering.

Welcome to our site – our industry – our activities