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

Power on the Fehmarnbelt link

Power on the Fehmarnbelt link

The 18 km-long Fehmarnbelt tunnel with its electrified rail operation and a fully lit road tunnel requires the security of an uninterrupted power supply. It will have its own, major substation at ... More Information

Complimentary Robbins Web Seminar on Field Experience

Complimentary Robbins Web Seminar on Field Experience

The latest in the Robbins Webinar series is entitled Lessons Learned from the Field: the Greatest Challenges in TBM Tunnelling. The discussion is scheduled for one hour on Tuesday, 30th September ... More Information

Over 900 items for Caorso auction

Over 900 items for Caorso auction

Ritchie Bros next auction in Caorso, Italy is on Thursday 2nd October, 2014. Over 900 items are currently included in the inventory, and more will be added in the coming weeks. This wide variety of ... More Information

Biel bypass go-ahead

Biel bypass go-ahead

The Federal Council of Berne, capital of Switzerland, has approved construction of the western branch of Biel bypass, including the junction to the right bank of Lake Biel (port tunnel) and ... More Information

Expotunnel for Bologna

Expotunnel for Bologna

ExpoTunnel is dedicated to the world of tunnelling, drilling, mining, underground construction and research. Following a successful first show in 2013, the second edition will take place in Bologna, ... More Information

Australian conference imminent

Australian conference imminent

The 15th triennial Australian Tunnelling Conference takes place in Sydney 17-19th September, with more than 80 technical papers due for presentation. ES Rubber, the manufacturer and international ... More Information

London power tunnels update

Contractors Costain Skanska JV recently completed the 3.4 km-long stretch of tunnel under the River Thames between Wandsworth and Earls Court using TBM Evelyn. This involved the twin challenges of ... More Information

Coguaro4 underground mixer

Coguaro4 underground mixer

An underground concrete machinery open house dedicated to tunnelling machines was held in July at CIFA headquarters in Senago (MI). On the CIFA test field, which was set up for the occasion, ... More Information

Approval for wider Eppenberg

Datec has approved the FFS project for the widening to four tracks of the Olten–Aarau rail section, including the new 3 km-long Eppenberg tunnel. Work starts on the tunnel next spring. Value ... More Information

Opportunities at Qatar Rail

Middle East Rail convention takes place in Dubai 17-18 March, 2015. The CEO of Qatar Rail has given an overview of the 14-year plan for the construction of Qatar Metro’s complex tunnel design ... More Information

Terratec TBM ready for Istanbul

Terratec TBM ready for Istanbul

Terratec has handed over a factory tested, customized 6.56 m-diameter EPB with versatile electric drive cutterhead designed to excavate the mixed geology along the alignment of Istanbul metro in ... More Information

Huge CBE moulds for Wuhan

Huge CBE moulds for Wuhan

French supplier CBE Group will provide 30 segment moulds for a 15.2 m external diameter combined road-subway tunnel in Wuhan, China. Read the press release and visit www.cbe-tunnels.com. CBE ... More Information

Turkey motorway financing

The EUR457 million financing agreement for Phase 2A of the Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir motorway in Turkey has been signed. This section includes the bi-tube Selcukgazi tunnel, length 1,037 m. Overall, the ... More Information

Transjura A16 section opened

A 9 km-long stretch of A16 motorway between Bure and Porrentruy was inaugurated and opened to traffic on 21.08.2014. The last link of the A16 connecting the canton of Jura with France, this highway ... More Information

Submission deadline extended

The deadline to submit abstracts for the WTC 2015 in Dubrovnik, Croatia from 22 to 28 May 2015 has been extended to September 15th. Visit http://wtc15.com. 36/14. More Information

Schoema at Innotrans

Schoema at Innotrans

German specialist locomotive and rolling stock manufacturer Schoema will be presenting new technology at Innotrans 2014 in Berlin, September 23-26th. Don’t miss their exhibition stand, and ... More Information

BTS conference registration

BTS 2014 takes place at the QE 2 Centre in London on 23-24th September. Free online registration is available. Accompanied by “a very well attended exhibition, with many key people from the UK and international tunnelling sectors”. 33/14. More Information

TBM renaissance in Norway

TBM renaissance in Norway

A Robbins 7.2 m-diameter main beam TBM is at work on the Rossaga hydro project in Norway, the first Norwegian tunnel to be mechanically bored in 22 years. Watch the six-minute video and visit ... More Information

Terratec double in Delhi

Terratec double in Delhi

The first two of a scheduled 18 breakthroughs of Terratec TBMs have been accomplished on the CC-07 and CC-24 projects at New Delhi Metro Phase-III. Read the press release and visit ... More Information

Putzmeister at Expomina, Peru

Expomina 2014 takes place in Lima, Peru on 10-12th September. Putzmeister will be there on Stand E01 showing its 5 cu m capacity Mixkret 5 mixer/carrier designed for underground applications. Read ... More Information

City Rail Link update

City Rail Link update

New Zealand’s City Rail Link (CRL) will be built in two 3.4 km-long, twin tunnels up to 42 m below the city centre of Auckland. It will extend the existing rail line underground through ... More Information

Palermo railway ring

Palermo railway ring

On 23.07.2014 Tecnis SpA (Catania) began work on Lot 1 of the railway ring in Palermo. Value of the project is EUR152 million, with EUR28 million coming from EU funds. The Giachery-Politeama section ... More Information

Palermo-Messina progress

On 17.07.2014 breakout was achieved at the Palermo end of the 4,127 m-long Monte Poggio Maria tunnel, part of the dualling of the 19.7 km Fiumetorto-Cefalu Ogliastrillo section on the ... More Information

Power your business with tunnelbuilder

As the good times start to roll again in the US and Europe, tunnelbuilder readership is growing rapidly, currently averaging 71,493 visits/month for 2014. Our weekly newsletter garners 10,666 ... More Information

Atkins to lead Doha metro

UK-based design, engineering and consulting firm WS Atkins has been awarded the EUR100 million contract as lead designer for Doha metro Gold Line in Qatar. Visit ... More Information

Top award for Lok Home of Robbins

Once a year, the Underground Construction Association honours a person who has made major contributions to the tunnelling industry throughout their career. Lok Home is the exceptionally deserving ... More Information

Merano northwest bypass

Merano northwest bypass

On 22.07.2014 Bozen Province in Italy approved the definitive alignment of Merano northwest bypass – Lot 2. Tender is expected in 2016, start of work in 2017. Lot 2 will be mainly underground ... More Information

Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway

RNVL is implementing the 125.09 km-long rail project in the Garhwal region in Uttarakhand with a preliminary cost of EUR530 million. The rail project passes through Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and ... More Information

Breakthrough at the Kargi HEPP

A Robbins double shield TBM broke through on 05.07.2014 in Turkey at the Kargi HEPP. The machine made it through fault zones and squeezing ground, ultimately excavating over 700 m/month. Click ... More Information

First Northgate Link TBM launches

The first of two TBMs that will dig new twin light rail tunnels from the Northgate neighbourhood in Seattle to the University of Washington began mining on 09.07.2014.  The TBM will mine ... More Information

Basel east ring road, new variant

Basel east ring road, new variant

The Federal Roads Office has drawn up, and discussed with the cantons, a new variant involving the construction of a tunnel under the Rhine between Birsfelden and the North Ring Road branch Wiese to ... More Information

WTC2015 – Deadline Abstracts

WTC 2015 will take place on May 22-28, 2015 at Lacroma Valamar Congress Center, Dubrovnik, Croatia. Deadline for abstract submission: July 31, 2014. Visit http://wtc15.com/forms/call-for-papers. ... More Information

Terratec micro impresses

Terratec micro impresses

A Terratec MTBM working in Bangkok, Thailand has completed a 380 m-long drive of 1.8 m-ID pipejacked tunnel in just 23 days. Key to this successful operation was the high performance of the ... More Information

Australasian conference papers

The 15th Australasian Tunnelling Conference entitled “Underground Space – Solutions for the Future” takes place in Sydney on 17-19th September, 2014. Click here for online ... More Information

New products from Condat

New products from Condat

French manufacturer Condat supplies a complete range of self-extinguishing lubricants to the tunnelling industry that includes Tail Seal Greases, Main Bearing Lubrication & Protection ... More Information

Fairbank-Silverthorn Prequalification

Fairbank-Silverthorn Prequalification

City of Toronto, Canada has posted information for potential prequalifiers for the upcoming design-build Fairbank-Silverthorn Trunk Storm Sewer System project for which an RFP is expected to be ... More Information

Tunnelling News

Deutsche Bahn awards contract for Munich S-Bahn project

The contract involves structural works for the expansion, including the construction of tunnels and an underground station. The Tunnel Ostbahnhof JV, ... More Information

Excavation completed on Italian side of Brenner Base Tunnel

The tunnel boring machine (TBM) named “Flavia” successfully bored through the Alps beneath the Mules 2–3 section, reaching the Austrian border. More Information

Giant tunnel borer set for Shantou Bay project

A giant tunnel boring machine has been installed for tunnelling under Shantou Bay in Shantou, South China's Guangdong province. [Photo provided to ... More Information

€0.4bn road and tunnel project in Georgia

Work is proceeding on the Kvesheti-Kobi road and tunnel scheme in Georgia. The scheme is part of a larger project, being carried out with Chinese ... More Information

Lahore to transform with Rs49 billion tunnel boring project

Pakistan, April 27 -- The federal government has approved Lahore's Rs49 billion Tunnel Boring Project, marking a major development for the city... More Information

Construction at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

The 2,100-foot-long tunnel connects the terminal to parking facilities and the tramway leading to the RTA public rail line. During the project, two of ... More Information

AFFHOLDER AND J.F. SHEA TEAM UP ON $700 MILLION CONTRACT

The tunneling subsidiary, Affholder LLC, will lead a joint venture with J.F. Shea Construction, Inc., to build the I-35 Capital Express Central ... More Information

Factory Testing Complete on DC Water's first tunnel boring machine for the Potomac River

Mary passed all the necessary requirements and is one of two TBM's on the project. The tunnel is part of DC Water's Clean Rivers Project, to ... More Information

Work on Chennai Metro tunnel racing to a finish

The machine Flamingo, which started boring in 2023 for the tunnel linking Light House with Thirumayilai, is expected to reach the other end in ... More Information

CPK awards contract to build high-speed rail tunnel in Lodz, Poland

The tunnel, to be constructed using a tunnel boring machine (TBM), will have a ... More Information

Inside HS2: Meet London's miners working on the Northolt tunnels

We are on a tunnel boring machine (TBM) inside High Speed Two's huge Northolt tunnels. These tunnel boring machines are part of a tunnelling ... More Information

Ontario Begins Construction Of Last Tunnel Segment Of The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension

The remaining eastern portion of tunnel construction (500-meter twin tunnels) will use the sequential excavation method, with daily progress of ... More Information

Norway is building the world's longest and deepest subsea road beneath its fjords

We have subsea road tunnels which have that construction. And the new tunnel between Germany and Denmark, there they are laying down cases and put ... More Information

CERN releases report on the feasibility of a possible Future Circular Collider

The estimated cost of construction of the FCC electron–positron stage, including the tunnel and all the infrastructure, is 15 billion Swiss francs... More Information

TBM break through on Auckland's £915M wastewater megaproject completes 16.2km tunnel

Auckland's major wastewater infrastructure project, the Central Interceptor, has reached a significant milestone with the final breakthrough of ... More Information

In pics: construction site of Chongming-Taicang tunnel

A smart assembling vehicle works at "Linghang" large diameter shield tunneling machine at the construction site of the Chongming-Taicang tunnel, part of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu ... More Information

IN PICTURES: Spectacular images of the removal of HS2's huge tunnelling machine

TBM Sushila was used to construct part of the Northolt Tunnel – an 8.4-mile tunnel ... construction/london-tunnels/progress-3/northolt-tunnel/tbm- ... More Information

Historic tunnels uncovered beneath Salisbury station during £5.3M upgrade project

Engineers from Network Rail and South Western Railway have uncovered a network of tunnels and rooms beneath Salisbury station during ongoing £5.3M upgrades to the station’s forecourt... More Information

Massive $450m road project connecting Russia and Georgia with six bridges & five tunnels

Massive $450m road project connecting Russia and Georgia with six bridges & five tunnels. The new road will pass through Georgia along a trade route ... More Information

Buca Metro Tunnel Excavations Reached 50 Percent Level

Important progress is being made in the construction of the line, where four tunnel boring machines (TBMs), each 100 meters long, 7 meters wide and ... More Information

'Very promising' narrow-reef boring technology nearing rollout stage

A novel tunnel boring machine (TBM) will open up Bokoni's narrow tabular dipping PGM orebody to allow narrow-reef boring to take place, so that ... More Information

A vast undersea tunnel is being built

The 7.4 billion-euro ($7.7 billion) project is a huge undertaking, in every sense. Each section of the tunnel is colossal. These concrete structures ... More Information

National Grid gets planning permission for Grain to Tilbury upgrade with new Thames tunnel

National Grid has secured full planning approval for the Grain to Tilbury project, which includes a new power tunnel under the River Thames... More Information

Right track tunnel of Huangjialing Tunnel in NW China's Gansu drilled through

A staff member works on the construction site of the right track tunnel of the Huangjialing Tunnel in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest ... More Information

Shetland Islands tunnels plan takes 'huge step forward' with sonar investigations

This phase will further inform the project's development and feasibility. The tunnel project, seen by locals as pivotal for improving ... More Information

Construction of the Tarande tunnel begins next week

On March 17th, in Vilnius district Construction of a tunnel and other related infrastructure will begin at Taranda and Bukiškis. This project aims ... More Information

Delhi Metro's Golden Line achieves major tunnel breakthrough;

The construction of Delhi Metro's Golden Line achieved a major milestone on Thursday as the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) broke through at the ... More Information

RiverRenew Tunnel Project Nearing Completion

The RiverRenew Tunnel System Project, the largest infrastructure investment in Alexandria's history, is nearing completion. More Information

Sydney Metro West tunnels enter final stretch after big breakthrough

Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) constructing the huge Sydney Metro West tunnels have made a smashing entrance 24 metres below the surface. More Information

Chennai Metro Rail launches first tunnel boring machine for underground tunnelling in Kolathur

Corridor 5 begins at Madhavaram Milk Colony and connects through Koyambedu, Porur, Alandur and other residential/commercial areas of the city to ... More Information

Element Six, Master Drilling Announce Tunnel Development Partnership

Element Six and Master Drilling will deliver a diamond-enabled solution designed to increase tunneling development speed, reducing costs and minimize the environmental impact of tunnel ... More Information

Gateway Project Tunnel Connecting NY and NJ Moves Forward

Five Gateway contracts have been awarded so far, including one on Predergast's first day for construction on the Manhattan side of the tunnel... More Information

HSR Xi'an – Yan'an: Completion of All Tunnels in the Project

The HSR Xi'an – Yan'an has completed the excavation of all tunnels, including the Tongchuan Tunnel. This is a key milestone in the construction ... More Information

Brazil's US$1bn underwater tunnel project making waves among potential bidders

The first underwater road tunnel project in Brazil is attracting interest from multiple potential bidders, an official familiar with the matter ... More Information

Element Six and Master Drilling Announce Strategic Partnership for Advanced Tunnel

Achieving high quality, nonexplosive tunnel construction with various aspects of value generated compared to traditional rock excavation methods is a ... More Information

Tutor Perini Wins a $1.2 Billion NYC Contract

A joint venture of Sylmar-based civil construction firm Tutor Perini Corp. and its subsidiary Frontier-Kemper Constructors has won a $1.18 billion contract to construct a pair of rail ... More Information

Milestone reached for $1.6b Auckland wastewater tunne

Watercare's Central Interceptor project has passed an historic milestone with the southern half of the 16.2 kilometre tunnel – Blockhouse Bay ... More Information

Elon Musk's 'Wormhole' Tunnel Promises To Carry 20,000 People Per Hour In Dubai

It’s been more than eight years since Elon Musk decided he was fed up with traffic and declared he’d start digging tunnels to revolutionize public transport across the United States. So ... More Information

First tender for Dubai’s $22bn tunnels due within days

Dubai Municipality is expected to tender the first two packages of the $22bn Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST) project imminently... More Information