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

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

DTL2 metro tunnels completed

On 11.06.2014 McConnell Dowell completed excavation on the 1,395 m-long twin metro tunnel from King Albert Park (KAP) to Sixth Avenue (SAV) station for DTL2 in Singapore (contract C917A). The TBM ... More Information

Thomson Line underway

Thomson Line underway

On 27.06.2014 construction of the 30 km-long Thomson Line (TSL) got underway. The new underground rail line, which will connect the northern part of Singapore to the Central Business District (CBD) ... More Information

ExpoTunnel 2014

ExpoTunnel 2014

The second edition of ExpoTunnel will take place in Bologna-Italy on October 23-25, 2014 at BolognaFiere Hall 19. The deadline for early booking of stands at favourable rates is end-June. Visit ... More Information

North West Rail Link update

North West Rail Link update

The NSW Government has announced that the Northwest Rapid Transit consortium has been selected as the preferred operator to deliver the project’s operations contract. Click au/11. The first of ... More Information

SR 99 TBM repairs

On 16.06.2014 Seattle Tunnel Partners, the Washington State Department of Transportation’s design-build contractor for the SR 99 Tunnel Project illustrated a new repair work plan for TBM ... More Information

Finale for Twin Robbins EPBs

The second Robbins EPB broke through on 11.06.2014, marking the completion of twin tunnels at San Francisco’s Central Subway in California, USA. The first of the two machines holed through a ... More Information

New projects for CBE

CBE Group has signed new contracts for a total of 256 moulds for tunnelling projects around the world. Read the press release and visit www.cbe-tunnels.com. 26/14. More Information

Kiepe sponsors tunnelbuilder.it

Kiepe sponsors tunnelbuilder.it

Kiepe Electric provides solutions for fire protection in road, rail and subway tunnels as well as in industrial and marine sectors. More Information

Robbins at NAT

The Robbins Company will present a series of lectures on high power TBMs on Tuesday 24.06.2014 at NAT in Los Angeles. Read the press release and visit the company at booth 425 or at ... More Information

Bucharest subway approved

The European Commission has approved a EUR409.5 million investment from the Regional Development Fund (FEDR) for Romania's Eroilor-Drumul Taberei subway route currently in development. The new line ... More Information

Twelfth party for Robbins TBM

Twelfth party for Robbins TBM

The breakthrough of a veteran Robbins hardrock TBM on 19.05.2014 at the Lemay Redundant Force Main in St. Louis, MO was its twelfth in over 40 km of rock, since its manufacture in 1981. The TBM, ... 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

Webinar through WebEx on 18 June 2014

Webinar through WebEx on 18 June 2014

Following successful cooperation with the Robbins Company on TBM seminars in Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil, Mapei UTT is participating in the first of a Webinar series for 2014 organized by Robbins. ... More Information

Open day at Bure tunnel

On Saturday 14.06.2014 the construction site open day for the new 8.8 km Bure-Porrentruy A16 section will be held in Switzerland. The section includes the mono-tube and bi-directional 3,059 m Bure ... More Information

Robbins earns hard rock title

Robbins earns hard rock title

A 2.2 m-diameter Robbins heavy duty double shield hardrock TBM in Fairfax, VA on its seventh project has holed out after a punishing run through diabase of 345 MPa hardness. The machine has set a ... More Information

Tunnelling News

Single-Bore Tunnel Method Chosen for BART Silicon Valley Phase II

This decision allows VTA to advance project design towards 60%, stay on a critical path to tunnel construction and meet the projected revenue service ... More Information

Boring Co. begins 'controlled blasting' for Nashville tunnel at TN capitol

The Boring Co. has started excavation work at a state-owned parking lot on Rose Parks Boulevard for the Music City Loop project Wednesday, Aug. 13, ... More Information

TBM arrives in Montreal for delayed metro extension project

A custom-built tunnel boring machine (TBM) has arrived in Canada for use on a 6km extension of the Montreal Metro... More Information

Spain Confirms Feasibility of €8.5 Billion Morocco-Europe Tunnel

The study was conducted by German company Herrenknecht, the world leader in tunnel boring machines, at the request of the Spanish government's ... More Information

TxDOT spends $748M to burrow bus-size tunnels under Central Austin

The first tunnel boring machine will be deployed near ... Industry experts say tunnel boring machines typically advance about 50 feet per day. More Information

6 TBMs on Duty on the 27-Kilometer Line in Körfezray

Two of the six Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) that will serve in the first 27-kilometer phase are actively excavating tunnels, while the ... More Information

Construction on HS2's Euston tunnel will start 'fairly soon', says rail minister

Construction on the HS2 tunnel from Old Oak Common station to Euston station will start “fairly soon”, the rail minister has said... More Information

Blue Line Extension TBM Arrives at Port of Montreal

Railway Track and Structures Construction site of the future Vertières station (Pie-IX) in June 2025. Caption and photo courtesy of STM. MONTREAL - The tunnel boring machine (TBM) ... More Information

Tunnel break through milestone for Mt Messenger Bypass project

A 110 tonne excavating machine, called Hinetūparimaunga, has broken through at the northern end of the project's 235 metre-long tunnel ... More Information

$3.9 billion tunnel and bridge link for VA

Costing around $3.9 billion, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) upgrade Expansion project for Virginia will improve traffic flow for a key ... More Information

Extended North Tunnel Flood Mitigation Project Receives $18.2 Million in State Funding

The funding advanced by the board includes a $17.2 million loan and $1 million grant for the construction of the mile-long tunnel, which will divert ... More Information

Gateway Project faces new uncertainty amid government shutdown

Federal funding for the $16B Hudson Tunnel Project, aka Gateway, has been paused during the government shutdown, sparking political backlash. More Information

Tunnel Boring Machine Emily Passes Key Factory Test for DC Water Potomac River Tunnel Project

Tunnel boring machine (TBM), Emily. This test confirms that Emily is ready to begin excavating the southern leg of the Potomac River Tunnel — a ... More Information

Sydney Metro West achieves world-first in tunnelling technology

Sydney Metro West has achieved a world-first in tunnel construction with a Lining Erector Machine (LEM) successfully being used to line the mined ... More Information

Gateway construction continues despite Trump's claim of termination

Tutor Perini, the general contractor on the Manhattan Tunnel Project, confirmed construction activity is currently continuing as planned... More Information

Tunnelling complete for Annacis water supply project

Metro Vancouver has completed the tunnelling phase of the $450 million Annacis Water Supply Tunnel, which will complete in 2028... More Information

Santa Clara VTA confirms single tunnel plan for BART extension

With VTA now owning the tunnel boring machine, the agency assumes full responsibility for its performance, agency officials said. To manage the risk, ... More Information

Chennai: Tunnel Boring Machine Vaigai achieves breakthrough at Mandaveli Metro Station

CHENNAI: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) on Saturday achieved a major milestone in Phase II tunnelling works, as Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) ... More Information

Trump 'terminates' $16 billion Hudson River tunnel project linking N.J. and N.Y.C.

President Trump said funding for the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project is "terminated" at a press conference. New Jersey officials said they will ... More Information

$676 million underwater tunnel for India

The project is expected to cost around $676 million, with a Detailed Project Report (DPR) having now been completed. India's road transport network is ... More Information

€1.4 billion Belgian tunnel project approved

The first phase of the €1.4 billion project for Belgium’s new Limburg Noord-Zuid link has been approved. Construction should commence in 2027 on the project, which will form a section of ... More Information

Tunnel boring machine S-639B achieves breakthrough under Kanpur Metro Phase I Project

The package KNPCC-06 involves design and construction of a tunnel through TBM, cut and cover tunnel, underground ramp from Kanpur Central end of ... More Information

Lawmakers propose construction of undersea tunnel to link Luzon and Visayas

Several lawmakers from the Visayas region are proposing the construction of an underground tunnel that will serve as a permanent land connection ... More Information

Oman-UAE rail project hits major milestone with start of tunnel excavation

Tunnel excavation has begun in Oman's Al Hajar Mountains, marking a major milestone for the cross-border Oman-UAE Railway... More Information

Engineering the depths: innovative tunnelling for hydropower projects

Major schemes in Austria, China, and Germany are applying advanced underground construction techniques for hydropower projects. More Information

New tunnel, new standard: Silvertown project showcases innovation in surface protection

Originally approved in 2018, construction of the tunnel began in March 2021. In September 2023, following the completion of tunnelling works, ... More Information

Metro Manila Subway Project: DOTr launches third tunnel boring machine

Dubai: The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has launched a third tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP), ... More Information

Skanska JV wraps up $450M Baltimore tunnel nearly 2 years early

A joint venture has reached substantial completion on the $450 million Howard Street Tunnel Project in Baltimore nearly two years ahead of the original completion date, according to a ... More Information

Work continues on NYC megaprojects, despite $18B federal funding pause

Contractors on two of New York City’s largest infrastructure projects will keep digging, but they might glance over their shoulders toward Washington... More Information

HS2 Chipping Warden tunnel project moves step forward

HS2 Ltd An aerial view of the HS2 tunnel construction at Chipping Warden. A road HS2 Ltd. The 1.55 mile (2.5km) Chipping Warden tunnel will be ... More Information

First of three Tunnel boring machines on way to SA as beams go up for tram overpass

The first of three tunnel boring machines that will be used to complete the northern and southern tunnels project is on its way to SA as part of a ... More Information

Chennai Metro Rail's TBMs to begin tunneling between Thiruvanmiyur and Indira Nagar

Chennai Metro Rail begins tunnelling work in challenging stretch for phase II project, facing obstacles due to hard rock... More Information

Custom lifting gantry aids TBM removal - Construction Briefing

The four TBMs excavated the 8.4 mile (14 km) Northolt Tunnel section. Two went in each way, digging a pair of tunnels from both ends towards each ... More Information

Tunnel construction begins on Barskoon — Bedel road in Issyk-Kul region

According to the project, two tunnels, 5,340 and 3,840 meters long, respectively, will be built at Sook and Ashuu-Suu passes. They will be among the ... More Information

China debuts world's mightiest centrifuge, unleashing ultra-intense gravity

China leads the way in shield tunnelling machine development · Shield machine of south line of Yellow River tunnel starts boring in Jinan · A close ... More Information

Boring Company Launches Global Operations Control Center in Bastrop, Texas

The Boring Company has officially opened its new Global Operations Control Centre in Bastrop, Texas, the tunnelling start-up announced on X... More Information

Port of Longview Lands $35.9MM Federal Loan for Rail Expansion

Active Construction on New Hudson Tunnel Project Supporting Domestic Jobs and Economic Output ... Bridges/Tunnels, Class 1, Freight, Ports, Track ... More Information

TBM Parvati Achieves Breakthrough At Kakadeo Station Of Kanpur Metro Line 2

Brief Scope: Design and Construction of TBM Tunnel, Cut and Cover Tunnel, ramp after Double Pullia, ramps in Agriculture Depot for main line and ... More Information

Howard Street tunnel reopens ahead of schedule, boosting Baltimore's freight capacity

The Howard Street Tunnel has been reopened after being out of service since February 2025.The nearly 130-year-old tunnel extends north from Camden Yards to the Mount Royal Station and is ... More Information