Tunnelbuilder Promoting the world's tunnelling industry to a huge qualified audience

View the Spanish Tunnelbuilder website View the Italian Tunnelbuilder website

Archive - News

Featured News

BBT – Excavation has started at the H52-Hochstegen construction lot in Austria

On 04/05/2022 a ground breaking ceremony was held for Lot H52 Hochstegen in the presence of Maria Lorenzatto, godmother of the tunnel, along with the various authorities and companies involved. The ... More Information

Normet acquires Aliva Equipment assets to strengthen its sprayed concrete offering

Normet has entered into an agreement with Sika to acquire its Aliva Equipment business assets. With the acquisition, Normet supports its growth strategy by strengthening its offering in sprayed ... More Information

VTA Board Approves First Major Contract of BART Extension to Downtown San Jose/Santa Clara

Press release - At its May 5th regular board meeting, the Santa Clara Valley (VTA) Board of Directors voted unanimously to authorize the General Manager/CEO to execute the first in a series of ... More Information

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Bane NOR sign a cooperation agreement

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Bane NOR sign a cooperation agreement

Press Release - The Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Bane NOR signed a cooperation agreement on the €4.5 bn Arna-Stanghelle Joint Project After six years of planning, the mega-project ... More Information

Grand Paris Express - First breakthrough on Line 18

Grand Paris Express - First breakthrough on Line 18

On 25/04/2022 the TBM Caroline reached the future Antonypole station in the Antony municipality for Line 18, of the Grand Paris Express project. The TBM - launched in December 2021 from the Marechal ... More Information

TBM Underway again! Dame Whina Cooper sets off on second tunnel dig

TBM Underway again! Dame Whina Cooper sets off on second tunnel dig

On 26/04/2022 the Dame Whina Cooper TBM - 130 m-long, 7.15 m-diameter and 910 t-weight – has been declared ready to bore and has been launched from 110 m within a mined tunnel at City Rail ... More Information

TERRATEC EPBM completes Bangkok Rama III Cable Tunnel Project

TERRATEC EPBM completes Bangkok Rama III Cable Tunnel Project

TERRATEC is proud to announce the completion of the Rama III Tunnel Project in Bangkok, Thailand. The tunnel was completed using a TERRATEC 4.27m diameter TBM EPB.  It successfully holed ... More Information

Tunlift, the perfect solution for tunnel maintenance

Tunlift, the perfect solution for tunnel maintenance

Tunlift is a variable geometry lifting platform that has been specially developed by professionals in the sector. The "tunnel inspection" platform is based on a patented principle that allows ... More Information

Turin/Lyon - 10.5 km of the Base Tunnel completed

On the 28/04/2022 at Saint-Martin-la-Porte, in Val Maurienne, France excavation of the first 10.5 km of the Turin-Lyon base tunnel has now been completed:- click here for a video. At around 11:00 ... More Information

Second TBM starts her journey on the West Gate Tunnel

TBM Vida - 15.6m in diameter, 90m long and weighing 4000 t - is now on her way digging the 2.8km inbound tunnel for the West Gate Tunnel Project. Vida’s journey will take 12 months, with the ... More Information

Cross River Rail - Northern Tunnel Portal construction update

The TBMs - used for excavating the Cross River Rail’s tunnel in Brisbane - have now been taken away from site, allowing the gantry crane to be removed as well: click here for the video. ... More Information

Public comment period open on Massey Tunnel replacement

The early engagement phase of the environmental assessment process is underway for the proposed toll-free eight-lane tunnel to replace the aging George Massey Tunnel.   The proposed ... More Information

Equipment arrives for Broadway subway project

The first shipment of parts for the TBM that will dig the Broadway subway project tunnels has arrived in British Columbia.   The TBM components left Germany on 25/02/2022 and sailed ... More Information

Lower Thames Crossing invites shortlisted bidders to participate in dialogue

Press release - National Highways has (Tuesday 26 April 2022) invited shortlisted bidders to participate in dialogue for the £2.3 billion contract to build the tunnel and approach roads for ... More Information

Tunnelling Continues for the Clearwater Project

Tunnelling Continues for the Clearwater Project

A TBM named Rachel continues to build a 5.49 m (18-foot) internal diameter tunnel for the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) in Carson towards Royal Palms Beach in San ... More Information

Bramble, the first mini HS2 TBM

The site at Wormwood Scrubs is where HS2 will relocate the Stamford Brook Sewer and some utility services currently running under Old Oak Common Lane. This needs to be done in order to construct the ... More Information

Grand Paris Express - Final Breakthrough for TBM Armelle

Grand Paris Express - Final Breakthrough for TBM Armelle

TBM Armelle has reached its final destination at the Hugo manufact at Ville du Blanc-Mesnil on Line 16 for Grand Paris Express. The machine, launched from the Braque shaft in Aulnay-Sous-Bois, ... More Information

Final project for the Fontanabuona tunnel in Liguria, Italy

On 19/04/2022 the final design of the Val Fontanabuona Tunnel prepared by Autostrade per l'Italia was presented: a 230 million Euro project for a new junction on the A12 motorway and a 5.6 km long ... More Information

Construction of Prague’s metro Line D ready to start

Construction of Prague’s metro Line D ready to start

At the beginning of March 2022, the Czecha Ministry of Transport rejected the appeal of opponents to the construction of Metro line D in Prague. They also confirmed that the Prague Public Transit ... More Information

Epiroc wins large order including battery machines and automation solutions for new mine in Canada

Epiroc wins large order including battery machines and automation solutions for new mine in Canada

Epiroc, a leading productivity and sustainability partner for the mining and infrastructure industries, has won a large order for equipment, including battery-electric machines and automation ... More Information

Gennaretti centrifugal systems will be at GIC – Italian Concrete Days!

Gennaretti centrifugal systems will be at GIC – Italian Concrete Days!

Press release - From April 28th to 30th  GIC, the exhibition for technologies, plants and equipment related to concrete, will be held in the Piacenza Expo Centre in Italy. ... More Information

Tunnelling starts on the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension

Tunnelling starts on the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension

On the 11/04/2022 Metrolinx marked a major milestone as tunnelling began on the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension, the 9.2-km extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from Mount Dennis Station to ... More Information

Grand Paris Express - last TBM on Line 16

Press release - On 30/03/2022 at the construction site near Noisy-Champs station the name of the last TBM for Line 16 was unveiled.  In keeping with tradition, the tunnel boring machine was ... More Information

Rail Baltica Procurement Webinar 2022

On 13/04/2022 at 12:00-15:00 (CEST)/ 13:00-16:00 (EEST) the Rail Baltica Procurement Webinar 2022 will take place. Click here to watch the event live and here for the program. During the event ... More Information

Minneapolis Central City Tunnel: Project overview

The City of Minneapolis Public Works Department is constructing a new storm tunnel parallel to an existing tunnel located under Washington Ave. S. between Nicollet Mall and Chicago Ave, enlarging a ... More Information

BBT - Breakthrough under Isarco river

BBT - Breakthrough under Isarco river

On 07/04/2022 about a month after the start of the excavation work, the last main tunnel below the Eisack riverbed for the future railway Brenner Base Tunnel has broken through.   A total ... More Information

Tunnelling contract EOI for Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne

Tunnelling contract EOI for Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne

Expressions of Interest have opened for the longest tunnelling package in Victoria’s history - delivering around 16 kms of twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley for the Suburban ... More Information

Final connection tunnel complete as TBM Annie breaks through

Press release - A tunnel boring machine creating the final major connection tunnel into the super sewer has completed its 4.5km journey between Greenwich and Bermondsey. TBM Annie, named after ... More Information

Poland - Construction started on the Rzeszow Południe-Babica section of the S19 motorway

Poland - Construction started on the Rzeszow Południe-Babica section of the S19 motorway

On 04.04.2022 a ceremony was held to mark the start of construction work on the section between the Rzeszow Południe and Babica interchanges of the S19 highway in the Pre-Carpathian Voivodeship in ... More Information

Ontario Line subway project breaks ground at Exhibition Station

Metrolinx marked the start of construction on the Ontario Line subway project, beginning with upgrades at Exhibition Station. These early works will be completed before major construction begins ... More Information

Robbins Main Beam Finishes Challenging China Drive

The breakthrough of an 8 m (26.2 ft) diameter Robbins Main Beam TBM at China’s Yin Han Ji Wei project is not only a cause for celebration, but also a triumph of technology and perseverance. The ... More Information

Green light for the third tube of the Rosenberg tunnel

At its meeting on 30/03/2022 the Swiss Federal Council approved the general project for the construction of the third tube of the Rosenberg tunnel on the A1 in St. Gallen; the two existing tubes ... More Information

Two autonomous TBMs for Sydney Metro West

For the first time in Australia, two autonomous TBMs (1,266 t and 165 m)  will be used to build twin 9-km rail tunnels between Sydney Olympic Park and Westmead, part of the EUR1.45 bn (AUD2.16 ... More Information

TBM Mireille breakthrough for the Line16 of the Grand Paris Express

TBM Mireille breakthrough for the Line16 of the Grand Paris Express

On 29/03/2022, TBM 8, christened Mireille, which had left Chelles less than a year ago, reached its first milestone by entering the future Clichy - Montfermeil station on Line 16 of the Grand Paris ... More Information

Progress at HS2’s Victoria Road site as base slab is completed

Progress at HS2’s Victoria Road site as base slab is completed

HS2’s Main Works Contractor, Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture, SCS JV, have taken a major step forward in their work at the Victoria Road Site in Acton, completing the base slab ... More Information

Italy/Sicily – RFI will design a new project for the safety tunnel at Cefalù

The Cefalù Municipality reached an agreement with the RFI, for the construction of the evacuation tunnel serving the future Cefalù underground stop, along the Cefalù ... More Information

Tunnelling News

China's deepest undersea high-speed rail tunnel advances to 113m depth

The tunnel boring machine (TBM), "Shenjiang-1," continued round-the-clock excavation. After more than four years of continuous work, the TBM has ... More Information

Ho Chi Minh City accelerates Metro Line 2 construction

With synchronized solutions and expanded use of tunnel boring machines, the Ben Thanh–Tham Luong metro project is being fast-tracked to set new ... More Information

IN PHOTOS Indias largest 1334metre TBMs Nayak and Arjuna

India's third home-grown N-sub commissioned; Rajnath also launches stealth frigate, · High-speed rail in India: DPRs for 3 bullet train ... More Information

Philippines: ₱16-billion contract for Manila subway's Airport T3 station, tunnels awarded

This project that will deliver the country's first underground mass transit system. The construction of the NAIA Terminal 3 Station and its tunnels is ... More Information

Bullet train tunnel breakthrough as Surat depot takes shape

Work is now advancing on drainage, waterproofing, and final lining inside the tunnel, while construction of a major rolling stock depot in Surat is ... More Information

Immersion of Fehmarnbelt tunnel elements to start soon, after vessel passes tests

The Fehmarnbelt project is one of Europe's largest infrastructure projects but is running around two years behind schedule after “challenges” with the ... More Information

Betty has made it out of the tunnel six weeks later

Betty the tunnel boring machine has re-emerged from a tunnel at Kirkham as part of a £5.5m project... More Information

China's $47 billion railway into Tibet needs a tunnel borer so powerful it does not yet exist

Now, a purpose-built tunnel boring machine must conquer the Himalayas to complete the most extreme railway project on Earth... More Information

TBM launched for metro Line 11 extension in Madrid

TUNNELLING work is underway on the project to extend Line 11 of the Madrid Metro network, with the launch of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) that ... More Information

TBM cutterhead lift and tunnelling risks for engineers

South Australia's $15.4 billion River Torrens to Darlington (T2D) project has installed the first of three 300‑tonne tunnel boring machine ... More Information

DP World Drives Canada's Infrastructure Build

The terminal handled the arrival and offload of a custom-built Herrenknecht Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) tunnel boring machine from Germany – weighing ... More Information

LA Metro approves route of K Line northern extension project to Hollywood

The analysis found that modern tunneling techniques are safe with pre-construction studies, use of advanced tunnel-boring machines, mitigations and ... More Information

Here's when first massive boring machine will start carving tunnel between New York, New Jersey

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A massive tunnel boring machine is preparing to carve a tunnel between New York and New Jersey after President Donald Trump ... More Information

Beyond the horizontal: how a next-generation TBM conquered Pingjiang's inclined shaft

A variable diameter inclined shaft tunnel boring machine has completed a landmark breakthrough on China's Pingjiang pumped storage hydropower ... More Information

CMRL begins tunnelling for Thiruvanmiyur-Indira Nagar section in phase-II metro rail project

Tunnelling through hard rocks in the 650-metre stretch may take nearly six months, officials say ... More Information

AKTOR’s Tunnels on Brașov–Sighișoara Line, among the most complex in Europe

A railway infrastructure project unfolding in the heart of Transylvania has been ranked, according to an independent comparative analysis, among the most complex and ambitious railway ... More Information

Tunnel-boring machines “Victoria” and “Natali”

The tunnel-boring complexes worked in tandem on the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskaya Line. The tunnel-boring machine complexes (TBMs) “Natali” and “Victoria,” ... More Information

Elon Musk's Boring Company plans mile-long tunnel in Dallas connecting to DART station

The Boring Company is developing a proposed mile-long tunnel in Dallas' University Hills that would link a town center to a nearby DART station, ... More Information

Hudson Tunnel Project marks major 2026 construction progress on both sides of the river

Work on the Hudson Tunnel Project in North Bergen is continuing to advance through several major construction steps reached so far this year... More Information

HS2 Ordered to Slash Costs and Construction Time in Major Government Reset

The Transport Secretary has instructed HS2 Ltd to identify options that could cut billions from the project’s cost and bring trains into service sooner, as the government pushes for a ... More Information

SRL East TBMs arrive in Burwood

Two more tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have arrived in Melbourne ready for tunnelling of Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East to start this year. The TBMs ... More Information

$100 Million Allocated for Ft. Laramie Canal Tunnel Project

Laramie Canal Tunnel Project. The Department of the Interior announced the funding Tuesday as part of the $889 million for water infrastructure ... More Information

What are the benefits of using tunnel boring machines in infrastructure projects?

Ask NCE has been updated to Answers 3.0, allowing you to ask civil engineering-focused questions and receive clear, practical responses such as ... More Information

Minsk Metro, together with "Alesya," will start digging with "Mariya."

It was noted on a transport forum that parts of a second tunnel boring machine (TBM) for laying tunnels began to be brought to one of the construction sites of the third metro line... More Information

TBM for Lyon-Turin project unveiled

The first of two tunnel boring machines for the Italian section of the 57.5km Mont Cenis Base Tunnel has been unveiled... More Information

NFR achieves breakthrough in Tunnel No 8 of Sivok–Rangpo railway project

Tunnel No. 8 is one of the major tunnels of the project with a total length of 4.148 km and an additional adit measuring 1.010 km. The excavation and ... More Information

Suburban Rail Loop hits tunnelling milestone as eight TBMs arrive on site

The Suburban Rail Loop has reached a major construction milestone, with eight tunnel boring machines now on site ahead of tunnelling later this year... More Information

$16bn Hudson Tunnel project could pause again 'in two to three months'

Components of the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will be used for the Palisades Tunnel Project arrived at ... More Information

Hinkley Point C | TBM readied for 620m long fish return tunnel

The tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will excavate the fish return tunnel has been christened Sarah Guppy by local schoolchildren, in tribute to ... More Information

Bhopal Metro's Orange Line Tunnelling Begins

The Bhopal Metro project has recently reached an important milestone as tunnel boring machines (TBMs) have been positioned to begin digging work on ... More Information

A Chinese team rescued a $50M tunnel machine stuck 177 feet underground

Chinese engineers have pulled off a stunning rescue, saving a tunnel boring machine (TBM) stuck 177 feet underground beneath the Yangtze River. More Information

Fort Smith named finalist in Elon Musk's Boring Company tunnel challenge

The company selected Fort Smith's proposal from 487 applicants. The company says the winning project will receive construction of a one-mile tunnel ... More Information

Bengaluru: Four infrastructure firms bid for Hebbal short tunnel

Bengaluru infrastructure: Four firms, including Dilip Buildcon and Max Infra, bid for BDA's Rs 1086 crore Hebbal short tunnel project... More Information

TBM readied for Montreal's Blue Line extension

A custom-made 9.7m-diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM) has been assembled and lowered ready to excavate the tube from the future Vertières stop to ... More Information

$11.5B Brenner Base Tunnel Nears End of TBM Excavation

With TBMs Olga and Wilma closing in, the 55-km rail project shifts from excavation to systems integration ahead of its planned 2028 opening beneath ... More Information

$6.75 Billion Unlocked for Turkey's Bosphorus Rail Project

Multiple Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) will need to be mobilized to carve out the subterranean corridors leading up to ... More Information

Tunneling for Nashville's underground Tesla project has begun

The Boring Company said that the first three weeks of the project will consist of the Prufrock-MB1, a machine that will help carve out the tunnel, ... More Information

Hudson Tunnel Project construction resumes

I look forward to celebrating the launch of our tunnel boring machines through the Palisades once GDC has assurance it will receive the steady flow ... More Information

Lower Thames Crossing

British suppliers could meet 90% of low carbon steel requirements. The proposed machine would be 16.4m in diameter, large enough to create a three‑lane tunnel bore, and is intended to dig ... More Information