TBM RECORDER
Strabag selects Aker Wirth machines for Koralm
May 2011
Aker Wirth News Release
- Aker Wirth has secured one of the highly prized TBM orders of the moment. Two Aker Wirth TBMs are ordered by Strabag for excavation of its main construction lot KAT 2 contract for the Koralm high-speed railway tunnel project in Austria.
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The 32.5km Koralm tunnel, a vital part of trans-Austrian and inter-European rail services
- The two telescopic shield TBMs will work on the 20km long heart of the 32.5km long Koralm tunnel on the new high-speed rail route between Graz and Klagenfurt. The two 9.93m diameter TBMs will be in operation from October 2012 and will operate through a 60m deep shaft as the only access to the underground construction work. This brings a particular challenge to the construction process.
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- Christoph Kleuters, CEO of Aker Wirth, said: "Winning this major European project has filled us with pride. We strengthen our technological leadership continually, particular in hard rock TBM technology. Whenever high technology is required, we deliver the tunnel boring machine - something we have been doing for the last 40 years. We convince our customers not only with our approach to machine design but also with our comprehensive and professional consulting and on-site service."
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- Wolfgang Lehner, General Manager at Strabag AG, explained: "Aker Wirth, in cooperation with Rowa Tunnelling Logistics AG, emerged victorious as the best candidate from a tender procedure carried out by us. The technical solution to the task along with expertise in hard rock TBMs convinced us, as well as the cost-effectiveness of the tender. We are confident that we have found the right partner to meet the challenges of this exceptional project."
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Day of signing: Christoph Kleuters, CEO Aker Wirth, and Wolfgang Lehner, General Manager Strabag AG, (centre left and right) are joined by (left) Jost Wenk, Project Director of Rowa Tunnelling Logistics, Werner Baumann, Managing Director Investmanagement BMTI, and (right) Hans Greve, Vice President Mining & Construction Aker Wirth, and Detlef Jordan, Product Sales Manager TBMs Aker Wirth, to confirm the highly prized TBM order
- The two telescopic shield machines can be identified by the typical Aker Wirth wing-type gripping system in the rear sections of the shield. This provides optimal support via the secure three-point bearing to produce high-performance boring with very little vibration. The cutter head is driven by electric motors with an overall power rating of 4,800kW and a maximum cutting torque of 30,000kNm. The back-up will be designed and delivered by long-standing cooperation partner Rowa Tunnelling Logistics of Switzerland. The entire tunnelling system is approximately 160m long and weighs in excess of 1,800 tonne. The manufacture of each machine will take around a year and the first machine will start tunnelling in October 2012.
- With the new high-speed rail route and its long Koralm tunnel, ÖBB Austrian railways will provide reduce travel times between Graz and Klagenfurt by half. This 130km 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 30km, is the core of this railway line and will be one of the longest traffic tunnels in the world.
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