Västlänken: Planned Railway Tunnel under the Centre of Gothenburg

Västlänken – the West Link – is a planned railway tunnel under the centre of Gothenburg. As from 2026 three new underground stations are scheduled to provide increased capacity for commuter rail services and improve accessibility to the city. As commuting times are reduced, the labour market is expected to expand and promote regional growth and sustainable development. Several of the areas passed through by the West Link pose major geotechnical, hydrogeological and technical challenges concerning the protection of the environment and existing buildings. The present report was part of the Swiss Tunnel Congress 2016 conference programme.

1 A growing City in a developing Region

Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden and is located in the south western Västra Götaland Region. It is the main transport and industrial region of Sweden and handles a large amount of goods to and from all of Scandinavia. Because of this, the regional infrastructure is an important competition factor for the whole of Sweden.

Population and economic growth are steadily increasing and the economy of the Västra Götaland Region accounts for more than a quarter of Sweden’s exports. The larger region of western Sweden, with Gothenburg at its core, is...

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