Skaugum Tunnel
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The Skaugum Tunnel ( no, Skaugumtunnelen) is a long railway tunnel in Asker, Norway, on the Asker Line. The tunnel runs between Asker Station and Solstad and was built as part of the first stage of the Asker Line, between Asker and
Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...
. Construction started in February 2002 and the tunnel opened on 27 August 2005. The tunnel was built by
Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footbal ...
for the Norwegian National Rail Administration using the drilling and blasting method with one crosscut. During construction there was one blasting accident. Since the tunnel opened, there have been problems with leaks damaging the infrastructure. The tunnel has
double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
, is electrified and allows for a maximum speed of . The cost to build the tunnel, excluding the infrastructure, was 450 million
Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''Ã ...
(NOK). The tunnel has accelerated intercity and regional traffic west of Oslo and freed up capacity for the Oslo Commuter Rail on the old Drammen Line. __TOC__


Specifications

The Skaugum Tunnel is a long tunnel with a cross-section varying between . It carries the double-tracked Asker Line between Asker Station and Solstad. The tunnel runs mostly through
Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, êž’) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...
-
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
sedimentary
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
,
nodular limestone Nodule may refer to: *Nodule (geology), a small rock or mineral cluster *Manganese nodule Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are mineral concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides ...
and
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
, with local occurrences of Permian igneous rock. The line is electrified at and allows for maximum speeds of . The tunnel has frost isolation into the tunnel from each end and frost fans which ensure that the air stays put in the middle of the tunnel to hinder cold air from reaching in past the frost isolation.


History

The Asker Line runs from Lysaker Station via
Sandvika Station Sandvika Station ( no, Sandvika stasjon) is a railway station located at Sandvika in Bærum, Norway. Situated on the Drammen Line, from Oslo S, it also an intermediate station of the Asker Line. Vy (transport operator), Vy serves the station with ...
to Asker Station, in the municipalities of Bærum and Asker. The line was built to increase the traffic on the west corridor. Traditionally, the only railway west of Oslo was the Drammen Line, which has limited capacity, and a mix of local, regional, intercity and freight trains. This caused many delays and poor utilization of tracks, as some trains make many stops and others only a few. The Asker Line allows regional and intercity trains to by-pass the local stations east of Asker, by running local trains and freight trains on the Drammen Line, while faster trains run on the new track. The Asker Line was built in two stages: the first from Asker to Sandvika was built from 2001 to 2005, and the second stage, from Sandvika to Lysaker, between 2007 and 2011. The other two tunnels on the Asker Line are the long
Tanum Tunnel Tanum Tunnel ( no, Tanumtunnelen) is double-track railway tunnel on the Asker Line, between Jong in Bærum and Åstad in Asker, Norway. It was built as part of the first stage of the Asker Line, between Asker and Sandvika; construction started ...
and the long
Bærum Tunnel The Bærum Tunnel ( no, Bærumstunnelen) is a long double track railway tunnel in Bærum, Norway. Running between Marstranderveien and Engervannet, it makes up most of the long section of the Asker Line between Lysaker Station and Sandvika S ...
. Work on geological surveys in the area started prior to 2001, with surveys being performed by the Geological Survey of Norway. The contract to build the tunnel and all other earthwork on the section from Solstad to Hønsveien was awarded to Mika, with the tunneling costing NOK 425 million. The tunnel was built using the drilling and blasting method using two points of entry, the entrance on the Asker side and from a crosscut at
Skaugum Skaugum is an estate, manor house and the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The estate is located in Asker municipality, southwest of Oslo, by the foot of the mountain Skaugumsåsen. The ...
. Work started in February 2002 and was concluded in May 2005. Construction involved blasting of earthwork and drilling of holes for pre-injection. The construction used of gunite, of concrete, 24,000 bolts, of water- and frost protection, of noise- and frost isolation and of cable conduit. Near the entrance at Asker, the tunnel is closest to the surface, and is between below the basements of residential houses. During the construction of this part, the construction was as slow as per week, of which half the time was used for injections to choke the tunnel. During the construction there was an accident where a worker driving a wheeled loader was only from a blasting. He became disabled, but did not receive any compensation because he was working for the contractor as a sole proprietor, not as a wage earner. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority criticized Mika for improper safety routines and required them to improve them, but concluded that no criminal offenses had been committed. A concern from people living along the tunnel was that they would be subject to low-frequency noise. Originally the municipalities of Asker and Bærum had demanded that residents be subject to a maximum of 27
decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...
A-weighting A-weighting is the most commonly used of a family of curves defined in the International standard IEC 61672:2003 and various national standards relating to the measurement of sound pressure level. A-weighting is applied to instrument-measured ...
(dBA), but the National Rail Administration appealed the requirements and was permitted to allow up to 32 dBA. In March 2004, a test was done in the tunnel to insure that the requirements would be met, as low-frequency sound is difficult to predict. Measurements after the opening of the tunnel showed background noise of 30 dBA, that no-one was subject to 32 dBA or higher, and that it was nearly impossible to measure the passing of trains. Among the major concerns were leaks; during the construction on the Romerike Tunnel, there was a one-year delay and severe cost overruns due to improper construction methods. One of the main aims in the Skaugum Tunnel project was therefore to avoid similar leaks, and the criteria were set to per minute per . This was achieved by using sufficient time for the pre-injection, as well as continuous pregrouting through the entire tunnel. However, water still dripped into the tunnel, which caused several types of damage. In some places, it dripped onto the track causing it to rust, while in other places it fell onto electrical equipment. There were also issues with water running down the walls and collecting in the cable conduit, and the limestone in the water mixing with the ballast. By 2011, the emergency lighting system had to be replaced because of the high humidity. The National Rail Administration has stated that savings made by the specifications in the water and frost protection methods have caused high maintenance costs because the small leaks which are present have done a lot of harm. In addition, areas with leaks suffer from icing. This has been part of a trend where older tunnels are nearly maintenance-free, while newer tunnels have incurred high maintenance costs. Laying of tracks, signaling, power supply and other infrastructure was done by
Baneservice BaneService is a Norwegian government owned railway construction and maintenance company. It is by far the largest subcontractor for Bane NOR and is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. History The company started out ...
. The cost for the entire section from Asker to Sandvika was NOK 70 million. The work was done in February and March 2005. The opening of the tunnel and the rest of the section from Asker to Sandvika took place on 27 August 2005.


References

{{Commons category, Skaugumtunnelen Asker Railway tunnels in Viken 2005 establishments in Norway Tunnels completed in 2005 Tunnels on the Asker Line