Tunnelling - Articles and news items

Professional services for 21st century railways

Industry Focus 2007, Past issues / 29 December 2006 /

All large corporate organisations, such as railways, have the need for professional services. Lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers – all these and more are likely to be needed at some time or another, especially if large projects are being planned. Many professional services will be available in-house – and the larger the organisation, the more likely this is to be the case. Thus many of Europe’s big state railways have these skills in-house, and indeed many have consultancies – such as France’s SNCF International and Germany’s DE Consult – which sell professional services to outside bodies.

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A Swedish sustainable society

Issue 5 2006, Past issues / 15 September 2006 /

The Citytunnel in Malmö is an extensive project. To construct 17km of twin-track railway, 6km of which lie beneath central Malmö, more than 400,000m3 of concrete will be required.

But the Citytunnel is not just one of Sweden’s largest ever infrastructure projects. It is also a pioneering project in terms of dealing with the environment as well as in terms of the relationship between client and contractors.

On 8 March last year, Sweden’s Prime Minister, Göran Persson, pushed the button that marked the start of construction of the Citytunnel. Now, more than a year and a half later, work at several sites has gone 25m down into Malmö’s limestone and casting of the permanent structures, such as stations, cut-and-cover tunnels, and bridges has progressed. But a massive challenge remains – to bore the two parallel tunnels under central Malmö.

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Tunnelling for European high-speed railways

Issue 4 2006, Past issues / 28 July 2006 /

Since the 1980s railway traffic for passengers has experienced a renaissance. Especially France and some time later Germany started to construct and operate their first high-speed lines with speeds between 300 and 350km per hour. Later, other European countries followed; such as Italy, Spain and the UK, and even the Alpine countries with an extremely difficult topography.

The history of modern heavy railway systems began in Europe for passenger transport in 1830 with the line between Liverpool and Manchester in the UK. Soon afterwards, the continental countries followed and introduced the British system in their areas, for example Germany in December 1835 between Nuremberg and Fürth using the famous Stephenson Locomotive ‘Adler’ (‘Eagle’) applying the British gauge of 1,435mm. During the following few decades a real boom in constructing railways was seen.

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The call for tender

Issue 1 2006, Past issues / 14 February 2006 /

AlpTransit Gotthard is creating a flat rail link for future travel through the Alps. At the heart of the new transalpine rail route is the world’s longest tunnel – the 57km Gotthard Base Tunnel. This pioneering achievement of the 21st Century will bring major improvements to travel and transportation systems in the heart of Europe.

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