France
Vosges Tunnel: 2nd Bore started
The French high-speed train TGV needs 2 hours and 20 minutes to cover the express route (320 km/h) from Paris to Strasbourg stretching to Baudrecourt in Lorraine. Currently in the east the route is being developed through the Alsace over 106km in such a way that by 2016 the travelling time can be cut by a further 39 minutes.
In addition a roughly 4 km long, twin-bore rail tunnel with a cross-passage every 500 m is being built to underpass the Vosges: using a tunnel boring machine (TBM) with a convertible EPB shield (S-670, Herrenknecht AG) with 10 m diameter and 105 m in length. The TBM...
