By rosebell
In order to advancing Saudi Arabia’s Trojena project, two double shield TBMs have arrived at the Port of Neom.
Naming as time travel tunnels, digging of two 3.8km-long tunnels for creating the world’s steepest TBM-driven funicular railway will be up to these two Herrenknecht TBMs, whereas the tunnels are due to transport people from the Mirage Visitor Centre to Trojena’s vertical city, the Vault. It will be Saudi Arabia’s first funicular rail system.
The 235m-long machines have an 8m diameter and each weighs 2,000 tonnes.
The responsibility of tunneling and excavation work for the project is up to a joint venture of Turkish companies Limak Holding and Al-Ayuni Investment & Contracting Company.
Locating up to 2,600m meters above sea level, Trojena is a resort under construction on the mountain of Jebel al Lawz.
Linking the Lake Access Road to the Vault, the 680m-long tunnel, located on the north side of Trojena’s lake, was marked as a breakthrough at Trojena’s B3 Tunnel east portal in May. TOver 90,000m3 of material was excavated using 58.5 tons of explosives across more than 130 blasts.
The work was carried out by Webuild, earthwork subcontractor Source Machinery, and tunneling specialist OSSA.
