Since early October 2015, the test operation phase in the Gotthard Base Tunnel has been in full swing. Numerous test runs have already been performed. Until May 31, 2016, around 5000 test runs are planned, with trains speeding at up to 275 kilometres per hour through the world’s longest rail tunnel.
Driving operations for the Crossrail tunnel sections with a total length of 42 km were successfully concluded in London in June 2015. Eight tunnel boring machines (TBMs) were used over a period of more than three years. Activities are now focused on furnishing the running tunnels and completing the stations. The report in tunnel issue 8/2015 provides an insight into the western TBM tunnel section (C300), building the Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road underground stations (C410) as well as Farringdon Station (C435). It follows on from the article published in tunnel issue 2/2013.
For the fourth time now, the European Rock Mechanics Symposium (Eurock) of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISFRM) was held in Salzburg. Eurock 2015 took place together with the 64th Geomechanics Colloquium of the Austrian Society for Geomechanics (ÖGG) from 7 to 10 October 2015.
After a number of tunnel fires with serious consequences around the turn of the millennium, the EU tunnel directive of 2004 and the German guidelines for the equipment and operation of road tunnels...
A number of road tunnels in Europe no longer comply with current safety requirements. Substantial impacts on the overall infrastructure resulting from tunnel closure due to construction are inevitable in many cases owing to the refurbishment measures that have become necessary. The report in tunnel issue 8/2015 examines the possibility of upgrading tunnels by installing an active fire-fighting system devised to reduce such closures. In this connection, the analysis not only considers the installation costs for structural and technical measures but as well compares the economic effects of different refurbishment concepts in a holistic appraisal.
What preconditions have to be provided to enable good coordination between tunnel operators and emergency services in case of an incident? This question occupied the 4th Commanders Forum at the International Fire Academy in Balsthal, Switzerland.
As in previous years, the STUVA also undertook a survey of current tunnelling projects in Germany at the turn of the year 2014/2015. The outcome is compiled in tabular form for the month of December 2014 and subsequently assessed. The table follows up its predecessors published for the years 1978 to 2014.
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...
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.
