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H3–4 Münster/Wiesing

Facts and Figures
Company PORR Tunnelbau GmbH in a consortium
Principal BEG Brenner Eisenbahn GmbH
Location Brixlegg - Austria
Type Tunneling
Runtime 04.2006 - 06.2011

New high-speed rail line for the Unterinntal railway.

One of the main lots of the Unterinntal railway, completed in summer 2011, was the construction of the tunnel section H3–4 Münster/Wiesing. PORR was responsible for the technical management. The 40km-long high-speed railway line on the Berlin–Palermo axis runs between Kundl/Radfeld and Baumkirchen in Tyrol. 32km of the stretch was realised as tunnels, troughs, galleries and underground roads.

Within an 18-month period, the stretch from Reith to Wiesing was driven at around 30m below the groundwater level. A hydro-shield weighing 2,600t and with an output of 7,000kW was used. In order to overcome the fluctuating geological characteristics of sand, gravel, silt and watertight ground blocks, PORR’s tunnelling engineers used a cutting wheel with 268 scraper blades and 68 roller bits.  This allowed them to drive 32m of tunnel per day in continuous operations. The underground construction was built onto the lining, which consisted of reinforced concrete tubbing, 2m wide and 50cm thick, with ring divisions of 7+1. A protective membrane and sealing foil was then added. A 20cm-thick fire-resistant shell from concrete and polypropylene fibres was installed on the inner side.

The works on the section of tunnel encompassed the following services:

  • 5,767.50m primary tunnelling using a shield construction method with slurry-supported shield, lining with reinforced concrete tubbing, diameter: 13.03m, cross-section: 133.35m²
  • Launch shaft approx. 855m² base area and depth of approx. 30m, including around 28m of tunnel using cut-and-cover method
  • Almost 36m drill and blast tunnelling as gap closure to lot H2–1
  • End structure
  • Eleven emergency shafts and tunnels at intervals of around 500m