Brenner Base Tunnel: Transport and Assembly of TBMs Wilma and Olga
The most important components of the TBM “Wilma” arrived at the “H53 Pfons–Brenner” construction lot of the Brenner Base Tunnel in mid-April 2024: The main drive and the gearbox housing were delivered to the construction site in Wolf/Steinach am Brenner on a special transport.
The double-shield TBM “Wilma” has a bore diameter of 10.37 metres and a total weight of 2700 tonnes. The length is approx. 180 metres. The tunnel boring machine consists of around 80 000 individual parts, which require up to 170 lorry loads to transport. The cutterhead and the main drive form the centrepiece of a TBM – these parts alone weigh around 264 tonnes and are up to 6.6 metres wide.
TBM Wilma starts in autumn 2024
After a three-month installation period in the assembly cavern, “Wilma” will begin its drive towards Innsbruck in autumn. The TBM will cover around 7.5 tunnelling kilometres on its way. At the end of April, transport of the twin TBM “Olga” from the Herrenknecht factory in Schwanau, Germany, to Steinach also began.
Transport of the TBM drive from the Pfons-Brenner construction site via the access tunnel to the assembly cavern using self-propelled industrial rollers. A high level of experience is required of the drivers, who guide the transport at walking speed
Credit/Quelle: BBT SE/Hetfleisch
Tunnel Boring Machines on the Move: Challenges on the Heavy Haulage Route
Due to construction sites in the Stuttgart area and the Arlberg Tunnel closure, the special transports from Germany for the main drive could not take the shortest route. Depending on the dimensions and weight, a diversion of around 700 kilometres had to be accepted.
Due to the high transport load, various bridge structures in Germany and Austria had to be checked in advance by structural engineers for their load-bearing capacity. This resulted in special requirements, such as a precise specification of the driving lane over the bridge, solo driving and walking speed.
For some transports, traffic signs even have to be dismantled and parking or stopping bans put in place. Additional carriageway slabs are laid out in particularly narrow places. Preparations for the delivery of the TBM parts began in mid-2023. This long preparation time is needed to plan and coordinate the road transport, the delivery into the tunnel with the self-propelled vehicles and mobile cranes and the assembly in the cavern.
