On September 26, 2015, almost exactly a year after works started on the Tulfes–Pfons construction lot, the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) to be used in the Austrian part of the Brenner Base Tunnel began its work and is now making its way through the rock towards Brenner – three months after the first of 75 heavy transports delivered the first part of the machine to the site in Ahrental.
21 Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are operating or being got ready in Doha, the capital of the Arab Emirate of Qatar. The Metro network is being further developed here at breakneck speed to be prepared for forthcoming major sporting events and provide a sustainable infrastructure. The first phase of the currently planned Metro network is divided into three main lines – the Red, Green and Gold Lines. They will connect the most important districts of the city.
In less than a year, the who is who from the international railway industry will meet again from September 20 to 23, 2016, at the InnoTrans in Berlin. Almost 139 000 trade visitors from 146 countries turned up for the 2014 InnoTrans at the fairgrounds under the Berlin Funkturm. From a total of 2761 exhibitors from 55 countries some 250 companies presented their activities and services in the Tunnelling segment. Next year, the Tunnel Construction fair segment will again provide a platform for those marketing construction products, tunnel drilling and cleaning machines as well as communication, fire protection and safety technology.
The S10 expressway in the north of Upper Austria will become part of the trans-European transport network and provide better connection between the Freistadt area and the metropolitan area of Linz and the Czech Republic. The project's section 2 includes the 4440 m long Götschka Tunnel. This future key structure on the S10 was constructed by applying the shotcrete method.
Since 2010 the 2.2 km long extension of Berlin's subway line U5 from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate is being carried out by the municipal transport company Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) and its subsidiary Projektrealisierungs GmbH U5 on behalf of the German Federal Government and the State of Berlin. Upon reaching its final position at the Brandenburg Gate on October 14, 2015 the Mixshield “Bärlinde” has successfully completed its tunnelling mission in Berlin. Behind the tunnel boring machine (TBM) are two 1620 m long parallel tubes, built through the historic center of the German capital. In the process a total of 1076 tubbing rings were installed.
The Steinbühl Tunnel is one of two tunnels in the approximately 15 km long planning section 2.2 on the new line (NBS) from Wendlingen to Ulm. The breakthrough of the Steinbühl Tunnel was celebrated at the Todsburg portal on 6 November 2015, six months earlier than scheduled.
Driven through a mountainside with 600 m of cover in Central Turkey, the Kargı Kızılırmak Hydroelectric Project is one of the most challenging tunneling projects ever completed in the region. The project is located on the Kızılırmak River, near the Beypazarı district of Ankara province in Turkey.
The construction industry accounts for roughly a third of the greenhouse effect, requires about 40 % of the global energy supply and produces a volume of waste exceeding 50 %. Ensuring that tunnel excavation material is utilized as completely as possible in this connection represents an important contribution to forming a future-oriented economic system by increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
The Boßler Tunnel is currently under construction in the planning section 2.2 “Albaufstieg” on the new line from Wendlingen to Ulm as part of the upgrading of the “Main Line for Europe” (central European west-east rail corridor). The single-pass tunnel is bored by a tunnel boring machine (EPB-TBM) and has an excavated diameter of 11.39 m. The lining of the two tunnel bores consists of 45 or 65 cm thick reinforced concrete segments. The length of each bore is 8806 m. In particular the forecast squeezing rock conditions and karst phenomena pose engineering challenges. In the first seven months of tunnelling from April to October 2015, 2959 m were driven and 1457 segment rings were installed.
Since 2012 Hamburgs elevated railway (Hamburger Hochbahn) has been gradually introducing its new vehicle generation of twin cars (DT5) for its fleet. Apart from being more comfortable, the new vehicles cause fewer sound emissions. The Hamburger Hochbahn called on the STUVA to devise and undertake technical investigation methods to be able to work out and map the resultant noise impact brought on by this advantage.
The 2015 STUVA Conference will be held in Dortmund from December 1 to 3, 2015 – the international forum for tunnels and infrastructure. For the first time, this year will feature a parallel series of lectures on tunnel operation in a separate auditorium in addition to the lecture series devoted to tunnelling. More than 60 papers will be presented at this year's STUVA Conference.
Anyone who wishes to write a few lines marking Prof. Alfred Haack’s 75th birthday has an easy task. Initial perusal of the available material provides...
The Ryfast tunnel project, the world’s longest sub-sea road tunnel system, is situated close to Norway’s fourth largest city of Stavanger. The project consists of three tunnels: Solbakk tunnel, Hundvaag tunnel and Eiganes tunnel. The excavation of the Solbakk tunnel started in August 2013. It is the main tunnel of the project with a total tunnel length of 14 km. The two headings are being excavated by drill and blast and will reach a maximum depth of 290 m below sea level. For the first time the software Amberg Navigator is in use which allows autonomous tunnel heading guidance operated by the tunnel crew themselves.
The durability of synthetic fibers in aggressive environments is often questioned. A long-term test undertaken by the Swiss material testing and research institute (EMPA) as part of a KTI project...
