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| Aker Wirth to supply tunnel boring machines for project in Austria Aker Solutions' wholly-owned subsidiary Aker Wirth has won a contract to supply two tunnel boring machines for the Koralm railway tunnel project in Austria. Strabag AG and Aker Wirth, part of Aker Solutions' drilling technologies business, have signed a contract for two telescopic shield machines. The two tunnel boring machines, each with a diameter of 9.93 metres, will be in operation from October 2012 at main construction lot KAT 2. This section, approximately 20 km in length, represents the heart of the 32.5 km long Koralm tunnel. It is part of the new high-speed train route linking Graz and Klagenfurt. Access to the underground construction work areas brings a particular challenge. The only possibility is a 60 metres deep shaft. The two telescopic shield tunnel boring machines can be identified by the typical gripping from Aker Wirth in the rear sections of the shield. The shields with the wing-type gripping are thereby optimally supported in the bored tunnel by means of secure three-point bearing. This allows the machine a highly efficient drilling progress with very little vibration. The cutter head is driven by electric motors with an overall power rating of 4,800 kW and the maximum cutting torque is 30,000 kNm. The back-up belonging to the boring machine, will be delivered and constructed by the long-standing cooperation partner Rowa Tunnelling Logistics AG from Switzerland. The entire tunneling system is approximately 160 metres long and weighs in excess of 1,800 tonnes. The manufacturing of each tunnel boring machine will take around a year and the first machine will start tunneling in October 2012. With the Koralm tunnel, the ÖBB (Austrian railway system) is constructing a new high-speed train route between Graz and Klagenfurt. This will reduce travel durations in the future by more than a half. This 130 km long key link is part of the Baltic-Adriatic Axis from Eastern Europe to Northern Italy via Austria. The Koralm tunnel, with two parallel single-track tunnel tubes and a length of more than 30 km, is the core of this railway line and will be one of the longest traffic tunnels in the world. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Construction News :: home page |