Semmering Base Tunnel
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The Semmering Base Tunnel is a railway tunnel under construction between
Gloggnitz Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria. Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the highest mountains in Lower Austria, Mount Rax (20 ...
and
Mürzzuschlag Mürzzuschlag is a town in northeastern Styria, Austria, the capital of the former Mürzzuschlag District. It is located on the Mürz river near the Semmering Pass Semmering () is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connectin ...
in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
underneath the
Semmering Pass Semmering () is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria, between which it forms a natural border. Location Semmering Pass is located west of Sonnwendstein and Hirschenkogel and east of the P ...
. The existing route is 41 km in length and the Semmering Base Tunnel will be 27.3 km in length. The new route will offer time savings of up to 30 minutes, partly on account of the shorter route and partly on account of the higher speed limit (maximum 250 km/h). Construction began on 25 April 2012 and the link is expected to enter operational service in 2030, delayed from the original estimate of 2026. The main benefit of the new tunnel will be increased ease of use for freight traffic. The gradients of the traditional routes requires the use of two locomotives; the reduced gradient of the new link will enable the transit of freight traffic using just one locomotive. The Semmering Base Tunnel and the
Koralm Railway The Koralm Railway (german: Koralmbahn) is an Austrian 127 km-long (79 mi)Johannes Fleckl-Ernst: ''Geodätische Herausforderungen beim Projekt „Koralmtunnel“''. In: ''Felsbau'', Heft 5/2010, S. 315–321, . double-track, electri ...
in combination will enable freight transit across the whole southern line with just one locomotive. Currently, the fastest
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
-
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
and Vienna-
Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
journeys on the
Railjet Railjet is a high-speed rail service in Europe operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Czech Railways (ČD). Branded as ''Railjet Express (RJX)'' for the fastest services and as ''Railjet (RJ)'' for services with additional stops, it w ...
services are 2 hours 35 minutes and 3 hours 55 minutes, respectively. If the
Koralmbahn The Koralm Railway (german: Koralmbahn) is an Austrian 127 km-long (79 mi)Johannes Fleckl-Ernst: ''Geodätische Herausforderungen beim Projekt „Koralmtunnel“''. In: ''Felsbau'', Heft 5/2010, S. 315–321, . double-track, electri ...
enables Graz-Klagenfurt journeys of approximately 1 hour, it will bring Vienna-Klagenfurt journeys down to 3 hours 35 minutes, a saving of 20 minutes. The Semmering Base Tunnel is projected to enable time savings of 35 minutes, which will enable journeys from Vienna to Graz and Klagenfurt of two and three hours respectively.


History


Background

The Semmering railway, which was constructed between 1848 and 1854, holds the distinction of being the first railway to traverse the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
, and has been commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway."Semmering railway tunnel gets green light."
''The Local'', 27 May 2015.
The historic significance of this traditional route is such that it has been declared a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. By the turn of the 21st century, a total of 70,000 goods and passenger trains were reportedly being run through the Semmering railway during each year, it is one of the busiest routes in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. In order to relieve pressure upon the original route, interest grew in the development of a more direct route over the Alps. These notions soon centered around the concept of boring a
base tunnel A base tunnel is a type of tunnel, mainly a railway tunnel, that is built through the base of a mountain pass. This type of tunnel typically connects two valleys at about the same altitudes. When originally constructed, classical railway lines ...
at a significantly lower altitude. During 2006, a two-year route selection process was conducted; in April 2008, it was announced that the southernmost route had been determined to be the optimum of those studied. During the later half of 2009, the final route for the proposed Semmering Base Tunnel was selected; this ran between Gloggnitz and the Mürzzuschlag-Langenwang area. Specifically, the proposed tunnel comprises twin-parallel bores, each possessing a diameter of 10 meters and separated by up to 70 meters; for safety reasons, connecting pedestrian passages between the two bores are to occur at regular intervals of up to 500 meters. This base tunnel, if built, is planned to enable trains to traverse the new route at a speed of up to 250 km/h. Being significantly faster than the Semmering line, it would enable a reduction in the travel time between the cities of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
."Semmering Base Tunnel."
''railway-technology.com'', Retrieved: 28 May 2018.
The proposed base tunnel is intentionally designed with a shallow inclination, a gradient of 0.85 per cent."Ground preparation at Semmering Base Tunnel."
''tunneltalk.com'', 7 February 2013.
This gradient was selected to enable it to be used by heavy freight trains with only a single locomotive. The plan involves several infrastructure changes, such as the integration of the railway stations at
Gloggnitz Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria. Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the highest mountains in Lower Austria, Mount Rax (20 ...
and
Mürzzuschlag Mürzzuschlag is a town in northeastern Styria, Austria, the capital of the former Mürzzuschlag District. It is located on the Mürz river near the Semmering Pass Semmering () is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connectin ...
with the proposed route. Outside of railway infrastructure, a
flood protection Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water levels ...
scheme is required to mitigate against the risk posed by the nearby River Schwarza while the relocation of the road would also be necessary.


Contractors

The primary contracts for the construction of the Semmering Base Tunnel is divided into three contract sections. During 2014, the contract for the construction of the 13 km-long central section of the tunnel, valued at approximately €623 million ($827 million), was awarded to a consortium of
Implenia Implenia is a Swiss construction and construction services company. Implenia, with its headquarters in Opfikon near Zurich, employs more than 8,000 people in Europe and posted revenue of CHF 3.8 billion in 2021. History Implenia was created o ...
and Swietelsky."Semmering base tunnel (lots 1.1. and 2.1.)."
''Implenia'', Retrieved: 29 May 2018.
A separate contract was awarded to
Amberg Engineering Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town. History The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under ...
for it to conduct tunnel excavation works, while Strabag was engaged to conduct drilling activities. During 2010, BGG Consult was awarded a contract to provide geotechnical and hydrogeological consulting services during both the tendering and construction phases of the programme. The
Austrian Federal Railways Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
contracted the planning of the proposed Semmering Base Tunnel's route to a
consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
of Werner Consult and Witrisal consortium to conduct the route planning for the tunnel. Separately,
Gruner AG Gruner AG, with headquarters in Basel, is a Swiss engineering services company. It has 21 subsidiaries at 33 sites in Switzerland, Europe and International. The business activities include project development, general planning and consultancy tas ...
was also involved in the design for the new twin-tube tunnels; this work included its
aerodynamic Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
s and
environmental control Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
, including operational and emergency
ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...
systems. Soil mechanical and geotechnical consulting services at the intermediate sites at Fröschnitzgraben and Grautschenhof by INSITU Geotechnics.


Construction

During 2012, preparatory ground works for the Semmering Base Tunnel commenced. On 7 January 2014, construction began upon the tunnel's central section.Reidinger, Erwin
"Construction starts on Semmering Base Tunnel."
''Rail Journal'', 14 January 2016.
Work on this section involved boring work along a length of 8.6 km, while a drill-and-blast method for the remaining 4.3 km section. The central section is to consist of 26 crossover passages between the two tunnels, along with an emergency station; a pair of 400 metre-deep ventilation shafts are also to be dug. By 7 June 2016, work on the third section of the Summering Base Tunnel had commenced; this meant that full-rate construction activity upon the project, which was reportedly costed at €3.3 billion as of this point in time, was now underway. To facilitate the construction work, three intermediate sites were established near to Göstritz, Fröschnitzgraben and Grautschenhof. At Göstritz, a 1,000 metre access gallery and multiple 250 metre-deep shafts were constructed to facilitate conventional tunnel excavation methods. At Fröschnitzgraben, a pair of 400 metre-deep shafts, possessing a diameter of 22 metres, were dug ahead of the deployment of
tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore throu ...
s. Once assembled, these will be used to create the bore towards Gloggnitz. Breakthrough of this section occurred on 10 June 2022."Durchschlag beim Semmering-Basistunnel" (in German)
''ORF'', 10 June 2022.
Additional major works will include the construction of entrances in Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag, as well as ventilation shafts at Trattenbach and Sommerau. Substations located at Gloggnitz and Langenwang are intended to be used to supply electricity to the trains that'll run through the Semmering base tunnel. Beyond the tunnel itself, ancillary work involves the construction of two new railway bridges, as well as a new road bridge and an underpass for the B27. Owing to encountering difficulties with the complex geology in the area, including the fault zone being traversed during construction and different rock types, an additional cost of €390 million was added taking the total cost to €3.9 billion, with measures to mitigate these risks in 2021 being unsuccessful.


References

{{Coord, 47.6758, N, 15.9224, E, source:wikidata, display=title Base tunnels Railway tunnels in Austria Transport infrastructure under construction 2027 in rail transport