The legal dispute concerning the award of the railway systems for the Ceneri Base Tunnel has consequences. An intensive review by the constructor, AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd (ATG), has concluded in mid-June 2015 that operational opening of the Ceneri Base Tunnel should now be planned for 2020 instead of 2019.
The DB Projekt Stuttgart-Ulm GmbH is forging ahead with the construction of the Boßler Tunnel as planned. It is the longest tunnel on the new Wendlingen–Ulm rail route with a length of 8806 m. The tunnel boring machine bearing the name Kätchchen reached the 1000 m mark late in the evening on June 18, 2015 in the eastern bore, which subsequently will house the Ulm–Stuttgart track.
The Weissenstein Tunnel, 3700 m long and located on the route between Solothurn and Moutier in Switzerland, is in a poor state. At least that’s the conclusion reached by a survey undertaken in 2011 commissioned by the route operator BLS. Studies relating to refurbishing the tunnel were carried out in 2012 and 2013. In late 2014 the AVT (Office of Transport and Civil Engineering) and the BLT jointly commissioned the results of these investigations and studies to be scrutinized
At the Semmering Base Tunnel (SBT) ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG has awarded a joint venture of Implenia, Hochtief Infrastructure Austria and Thyssen Schachtbau the contract for section SBT1.1 „Tunnel Gloggnitz”, worth 457 million euros.
CIMIC Group’s company, Leighton Contractors, has been selected by WestConnex Delivery Authority (WDA) to design and construct Sydney’s M4 East Motorway, in a joint venture with John Holland and Samsung C&T. 7 km in total length, the M4 East will join the M4 Widening at Homebush Bay Drive and provide a 5.5 km tunnel with three lanes in each direction.
Dr.-Ing. Karl Morgen, 1st deputy chairman on the board of STUVA, the Research Association for Underground Transportation Facilities Inc., was delighted to accept the Emil Mörsch Commemorative Medal presented by the German Society for Concrete and Construction Technology (DBV). The DBV presented its highest award to mark Dr. Morgen’s achievements in a wide range of disciplines.
One of the highlights of the workshop “Aging Tunnels – Safety in Operation and during Refurbishment” and the annual ITA COSUF meeting in Dubrovnik (Croatia) has been the presentation of the winner of the ITA COSUF Award 2015, Karl Fridolf (Sweden). The young engineer and research scientist at SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden has been honoured for his thesis on evacuation in rail runnels.
The DB Projekt Stuttgart-Ulm GmbH broke through the almost 220 m long mined section of the Imberg Tunnel on the new Wendlingen–Ulm rail route on June 30, 2015 following a three-month construction period. In spite of tricky conditions – the Imberg partially consists of karstified limestone – according to the DB work is forging ahead as scheduled.
In April 2015 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai) approved a 15 km extension of Dubai metro’s Red Line. The so-called “Route 2020” project is planned to branch off at Nakheel Harbour & Tower Station, leading to the Expo 2020 site near Al Maktoum International Airport. The future Red Line branch includes an 11 km elevated section with five stations and a 4 km underground route with two stations.
As part of its strategy to further enhance tunnelling and underground space awareness on an international level, the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) launched its own Tunnelling Awards program in March 2015. Since the registration opening on 10 April, more than thirty candidates have applied.
A short-list of pre-selected projects will be officially presented in September 2015. The preselected candidates will ensure a presentation of their projects on 19 November 2015, date of the Prize Awards Ceremony, during a one-day conference at the Hagerbach Test Gallery in Flums Hochwiese, Switzerland. The winners will be announced during a banquet the same evening.
With the breakthrough of Crossrail’s tunnel boring machine Victoria at Farringdon Station on May 23 at 5.30 am, London has made tunnelling history: Victoria is the last of eight Herrenknecht TBMs which together have dug 42 km of tunnels right through the heart of the English capital within three years, from May 2012 to May 2015. With the end of the mechanized tunneling operations, the Crossrail programme is 65 % complete.
The NRLA Gotthard Axis consists, in addition to the Gotthard Base Tunnel, of the 15 km long Ceneri Base Tunnel, the two single-track bores of which are to be augmented by bifurcation structures which will permit additional traffic links. Construction is well advanced; lining installation is already proceeding in parallel to tunnel-heading work, in order that, despite the difficult geological conditions, the still ambitious time-schedule can be met.
The new line from Stuttgart to Ulm is part of the new trans-European Main Line from Paris to Budapest. It crosses the Swabian Alb and is divided for planning purposes into the
sections Albvorland, Albaufstieg, Albhochfläche, Albabstieg (Alb foreland, ascent, high plain and descent) and the conversion of Ulm railway station. While the high plain of the Alb is predominantly characterised by open-air line, the sloping sections each side are dominated by long tunnels. The areas have similar geology, with karstified white Jurassic limestone being the most frequent formation. For the construction of a structurally stable and serviceable high-speed permanent way, careful handling of the karst is essential. The article in tunnel 4/2015 presents the concept for karst investigation and treatment for the Alb descent.
The Second Midtown Tunnel is an immersed tube tunnel, which will link Norfolk and Portsmouth in the US state of Virginia. The road tunnel will consist of eleven segments, cast in the dry dock in Baltimore County and then transported about 320 km south by sea and into the Elizabeth River to be submerged at depths of up to 29 m.
From June 10 to 12, 2015 the Swiss Tunnelling Society, a specialist association of the Swiss Engineers and Architects Association (SIA), staged the 14th Swiss Tunnel Congress at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre (KKL). Around 800 visitors participated in the high-grade lecture programme. It was accompanied by the Swiss Tunnel Colloquium, a parallel exhibition and excursions to topical Swiss tunnelling projects on the final day.
More than 1500 tunnellers from 71 countries gathered in Dubrovnik, Croatia from May 22 to 27, 2015. The occasion was the 41st Annual Meeting of the ITA – the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association – in conjunction with the 2015 World Tunnel Congress.
