Tunnels & Tunnelling Weekly
Tunnels and Tunnelling International
The official magazine of the British Tunnelling Society at Business Trade Media International
Welcome to this week's Tunnels and Tunnelling International newsletter.
Some great highlights and milestones in the last week.
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We hope you enjoy it.
See our highlights below:
HS2 COMPLETES CIVIL ENGINEERING WORKS AT LONG ITCHINGTON WOOD TUNNEL
HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd announced the completion of civil engineering works at Long Itchington Wood Tunnel in Warwickshire, the first deep tunnel on the high-speed route.
The Long Itchington Wood Tunnel is a one-mile (1.6km) twin-bore tunnel developed to host a railway line into the West Midlands.
HS2 has completed the important elements, such as three cross passages, concrete finishing works and base slabs, and emergency and maintenance walkways.
The next phase of the development includes fitting the tunnel with complex systems needed to operate the high-speed line, such as power, track, and signalling.
MARCH DEADLINE FOR JEDDAH STORMWATER TUNNELS
Jeddah Municipality ????? ?????? ??? has asked firms to submit their commercial proposals in March for a contract to construct the King Abdullah Road-Falasteen Road (Kafa) tunnel within the Jeddah city area in the Mecca region of Saudi Arabia.
The firms are required to submit their proposals on 10 March. The project was retendered in October last year.
The Kafa tunnel is being developed in two phases. The first phase involves the construction of two tunnels.
The three-year scheme involves constructing 5.33 kilometres (km) of tunnels with an internal diameter of 7.2 metres using tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and another 3.43km of tunnels with a diameter of 3.5 metres driven by pipe jacking or TBMs.
CZECH REPUBLIC PLANS TO BUILD TWO RAILWAY TUNNELS IN PRAGUE
Czech Republic’s Ministry of Transport and Správa ?eleznic, state organization (S?) have unveiled plans to build two underground railway tunnels in Prague to advance transport infrastructure in the capital city.
Established in 2003, S? is a state-owned entity responsible for the operation, maintenance, and modernisation of the railway network in the Czech Republic.
The two tunnels, set to stretch 10.6km, are expected to enhance Prague’s train capacity, decongest public transport, and integrate regional connectivity.
The first tunnel will run north-to-south, starting at a new partially covered station at the Florenc metro interchange, connecting to the junction near Smíchov and Vr?ovice.
The second, northeast-to-southwest tunnel will run from a new underground station at Karlín to Smíchov, with stops at Václavské náměstí and Karolovo náměstí.
WEBUILD’S NEW TBM POWERS UP FOR SALERNO-REGGIO CALABRIA PROJECT
Webuild has announced the start of operation of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed rail line in Italy.
The TBM machine, dubbed Partenope, is said to be the largest in Europe and the first to operate on the line, beginning the excavation of the Saginara Tunnel on Lot 1A Battipaglia–Romagnano.
The project is led by a Webuild consortium on behalf of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
Lot 1A, awarded to the Xenia Consortium led by Webuild, covers 35km of high-speed rail between Battipaglia and Romagnano in Salerno.Part of the Salerno–Reggio Calabria project, it includes 20 tunnels, 19 viaducts, and a junction at Romagnano.
TBM FLAVIA APPROACHING DESTINATION
On the GALLERIA DI BASE DEL BRENNERO - BRENNER BASISTUNNEL BBT SE (BBT) Project TBM Flavia is nearing the end of her 14.3km journey in the West Main Tunnel.
Boring since April 20219 the 200 meter long, and 2750 ton heavy, TBM approaches the final 500ms. She has excavated 13.8kms so far.
The TBM has been excavating 1200ms beneath the mountains and has encountered complex geology throughout her journey.
Like her twin TBM Virginia, which reached her destination below the state border in March 2023 through the East Main Tunnel, Flavia is installing prefabricated segments as she excavates.
RIYADH METRO’S QASR AL HOKM STATION OFFICIALLY OPENED TO PUBLIC
Qasr Al Hokm is one of 22 stations built on the Orange Line (Line 3), which is the longest line in the city’s driverless metro network, inaugurated in November last year.
The station spans 22,500m2 with 88,000m2 of built-up space and reaches a depth of 40m, contains seven floors and is equipped with 17 elevators, and 46 escalators.
It was built by Webuild on behalf of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City | ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????? (RCRC).
Webuild said the construction involved tunnel two boring machines operating at different levels, without disrupting other construction activities in the city.
CMRL DEPLOYS TBM KURINJI AT KOLATHUR RAMP FOR PHASE 2 EXPANSION
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has launched its first tunnel boring machine (TBM) Kurinji for Corridor 5 at Kolathur ramp, as part of the Phase 2 expansion of the metro network in Chennai, India.
Jointly owned by the Government of India and the state government of Tamil Nadu, CMRL is responsible for developing and operating the metro rail system in Chennai.
The Phase 2 works commenced after the completion of Phase 1 and Phase I extension corridors in several stages, since June 2015 and the growing ridership in Corridors 1 and 2.
Kurinji is the first among the planned four TBMs, each named after distinct Tamil landscapes (Kurinji, Mullai, Marutham, and Neithal).
DELHI METRO COMPLETES UNDERGROUND TUNNEL ON TUGHLAKABAD-AEROCITY CORRIDOR
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC), a joint venture between the Government of India and Delhi, has reached a key milestone in Phase 4 Golden Line with the completion of an underground tunnel between Chhatarpur Mandir and IGNOU Station on the Tughlakabad-Aerocity corridor.
The tunnel boring machine (TBM) breakthrough occurred at the IGNOU Station site of the Delhi Metro.
TBM successfully broke through at IGNOU Station after boring a 1,475m-long tunnel.
According to DMRC, the breakthrough was made using a massive 97m-long TBM.
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