ARGE U2 17-21, a Strabag/Porr joint venture, will use the EPB shield TBM to build the extension of subway line 2 from Vienna City Hall to the south for the operator, Wiener Linien.
The 6.84m diameter is 120m long and weighs around 1,200 tons. It has a cutterhead drive power of 1,920kW and maximum torque of 15,028kNm.
It will be launched at the future Matzleinsdorfer Platz station, from where it will drive a 2.1km tunnel northwards to below Augustinplatz. It will then be pulled back through the bored tunnel to build the parallel tube from Matzleinsdorfer Platz.
Herrenknecht project manager Ralph Lickert said the EPB shield TBM was the optimal machine type for the predominantly clayey geology.
The metro expansion is designed to meet the Austrian capital’s growing population, which is expected to reach more than two million people by 2030. According to the city, the investment in the line extensions will create and secure around 30,000 jobs.
