By Lynda Myer
In order to advancing Lot H53 Pfons-Brenner on the Brenner Base Tunnel, Herrenknecht presented the first of two double shield TBMs on 7 March.
The responsibility of deploying the 10.37m diameter TBMs that are due to excavate 7.5m of the West Main tunnel towards Innsbruck is up to consortium of Porr and Marti, whereas the Lot 53 with €959m (US$1bn) value is the largest construction lot in Austrian history.
With 10.37m diameter, 183m length and weight almost 2,700 tonnes, the double shield machines were specified for the complex geology and long drives in hard rock.
The acheduled date for transportation of the first TBM (named Wilma) from Herrenknecht’s Schwanau factory is the end of March and the machine will then be reassembled in the assembly cavern. Also the determined date for commencing the tunneling process is autumn this year.
The eighth, identical double shield TBM for driving the second tunnel tube in lot H53 Pfons-Brenner is currently being built and will be delivered in spring.
Additionally, Porr is building the approximately 600m-long link between the tunnel and Innsbruck’s main railway station through the Sill Gorge with construction Lot H21 and Lot H53 is second contract for the Brenner Base Tunnel. The Sill Gorge section is planned for 2024.
As the longest rail tunnel in the world, the Brenner Base Tunnel is 64km long and is being built beneath the Alps to connect Italy and Austria, decreasing the journey time from Fortezza to Innsbruck from 80 minutes to 25 minutes. It will be a key part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
