By Ashley Karen
A contract for the 21km-long Salzburg-Köstendorf rail line and the related tunnelling has been awarded to the Joint Venture including Amberg Engineering and ILF Consulting Engineers by ÖBB, the Austrian rail operator.
The contract contains the 16.3km twin-tube tunnelling across the Flachgau region (Tender 12656 and ENUW 1170) which involves two sections: the Seekirchner Tunnel which has a total length of 14.3km and the Grafenholz Tunnel with a length of about two kilometers. In the chief section of the alignment, a swellable, locally disturbed flysch is anticipated, while sections with low overburden should penetrate water-bearing sediments, molasse and debris. Diverse tunnel boring methods are anticipated to be deployed given the locality’s complex topography and geology.
The consultants’ engineering studies will form the basis for the government approval of the project, foreseen to be granted in 2023/2024. In addition, the Joint Venture will help with the formulation of tender documents and supply consultancy services all over the award procedure. Generally, the project targets to build faster rail connections in the Austrian Westbahn of the Salzburg region, which presently has only one remaining slow-speed route.
