Implenia and Marti Win Contract for Construction
of the Brüttener Tunnel
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has commissioned a joint venture between Implenia and Marti (50% each) to build five of the six lots that make up the MehrSpur Zurich–Winterthur project: the Brüttener Tunnel (Lot 240), Winterthur section (Lots 140 and 141), Dietlikon section (Lot 340) and Wallisellen section (Lot 540). The total order amounts to just under 1.7 billion Swiss francs. The construction phase of the project will take approximately ten years to complete.
TBM Excavation for Brüttener Tunnel
To Start in 2029
With the MehrSpur Zurich–Winterthur project the Federal Government and SBB plan to create a new double-track railway line through the Brüttener Tunnel and to expand the Dietlikon, Bassersdorf, Wallisellen and Winterthur Töss stations. This will relieve the current capacity bottleneck in the rail service between Zurich and Winterthur. The key to remedying the bottleneck is the 8.3 km Brüttener Tunnel between Dietlikon and Winterthur, which also includes a 1 km long turn-off to Zurich Airport. Two single-track tunnel tubes with an inner diameter of around 8.3 m each will be built to carry the underground rails in each direction. The two single-track tunnels will be connected by a total of 20 cross passages at intervals of no more than 500 m.
Most of the tunnelling will be carried out using a tunnel boring machine (TBM). Tunnel boring work is scheduled to begin in August 2029. BIM is being used for both planning and execution. In addition to the tunnel boring work, the construction project includes extensive special foundation and civil engineering works.
Dietlikon Tunnel
The Dietlikon section includes the complete redevelopment of Dietlikon station, around 3 km of new track, extensive earthworks and embankments, several underpasses and the Dietlikon Tunnel (approximately 300 m long). Construction for the Wallisellen section includes the Wallisellen West crossing, several new underpasses, platforms and bridges, as well as about 3 km of new railway tracks.
