Construction of the infrastructure supporting the planned 56km long Brenner base rail tunnel got under way last month, as work began on the 7.7km long Stans-Terfens railway tunnel in the Austrian province of the Tyrol.
A consortium, consisting of Strabag, Züblin and Hochtief, is constructing the US$160M double track single-tube tunnel, which forms part of the first 40km of access line to the planned Brenner base tunnel. There is about another 30km of tunnel still to be built on this route, construction of which will start in the next 18 months.
The client told T&TI that the first part of the tunnel’s alignment through loose material will be challenging for the engineers. The NATM-constructed tunnel will run initially through gravel, sand and silt for about 4.3km, then about 3.3km through dolomite and limestone. About 100m will be cut and cover. In the more stable rock, the cross section will be in the region of 111m2, while in the less stable ground, the cross section will be closer to 125m2. For about 2.3km the tunnel cross section will be expanded to 202m2, for a third track to be added to the route.
A 5.6km long pilot tunnel, that has already been constructed, will be extended and converted into a safety tunnel.
Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH (BEG) is the client, and the tunnel should be completed by 2007. The Brenner base tunnel is still in the preparation stage – the Italian section has just undergone the environmental impact assessment. The tunnel should be ready for the start of construction in 2006-7. The client’s consultant is Geoconsult from Salzburg.
