By Lynda Myer
The TBM Ida, which is the second of the two tunnel boring machines (TBM) for the H41 Sillschlucht-Pfons construction lot of the Brenner Base Tunnel, currently has been formally accepted at Herrenknecht AG in Schwanau (D).
Following factory acceptance of this Single Shield TBM, that has a drill head diameter of also 10.37 meters, a length of around 160 meters and a weight of 1,440 tons (including back-up equipment), it is now being dismantled and transported to the West assembly cavern in the Ahrental, south of Innsbruck, whereas its twin sister Lilia is currently being assembled in the East assembly cavern.
While the date of commencing the assembly at site in the mountain was March 2023, after its reconstruction, the Fabrik im Berg, Ida, is due to start in the summer of 2023, starting from the West assembly cavern in the Ahrental, on its around 8.3-kilometer-long tunneling route southwards in the West Main Tunnel, the lot boundary of which extends into the municipal area of Navis is enough.
Being located in the project area of this construction lot, the Navis elementary school was participated in naming this TBM as it also cooperated with the TBM Lilia.
According to the headmistress, Christine Mader-Ofer: “The children and the teacher cheered when they heard about their happiness. At home, the children and their families looked for two suitable names according to the specifications of the Brenner Base Tunnel Society and brought them to school. There, all suggested names were collected on the blackboard. Each child was allowed to choose two names from this list and cast their vote for them. In the first round of voting, the five favorite names were determined, which made it into the second round of voting. Once again, each child was able to name their two favorites, and it got exciting. As the name with the most votes, IDA emerged as the winner. The children are looking forward to admiring their work.”
