This adit will be 1.784 km long x 60 sq m at 1% downgrade to the Alptransit tunnel horizon where a further 200 m of preparatory work will be required to open out the four running tunnel faces. Ed Ast is undertaking the main development using an Atlas Copco 353E drillrig under moderate blasting restrictions achieving 12-16 m/day advance in Aar Massiv and Erstfeld gneiss. A full face comprises 105-110 holes of depth 3-4 m which are primed with Dyno experimental aluminised slurry using a pump and Nonel detonators. Swellex rockbolts with Dramix steel fibre reinforced shotcrete to support roof and walls. Rock flowed through Pegson crusher located 150 m inside portal and by conveyor to surface and dumps. Ast will complete end-November. Prequalification late-May for 11.4 km main tunnels, but method still under discussion. Elsewhere on the Gotthard base tunnel, the alignment of the section from Uri to the portal is still undecided. Contact info@alptransit.ch for further information. May 2000.Open invitation to tender for lot 252 running tunnels 2 x 11.4 km long to be constructed from base of 1.78 km-long adit currently under drill/blast excavation by Ast-Holzmann using underground crusher with conveyor system to surface for removal of spoil by rail. Cross-passages 40 m-long at 320 m intervals between main tunnels. Deadline 22nd January, 2001. Contact Lucerne office, fax +41 412 260600, e-mail info@alptransit.ch or visit www.alptransit.ch July 2000. Lot 252 for 2 x 11.4 km-long running tunnels towards Sedrun awarded to Strabag/Murer jv using Herrenknecht TBMs. 1.88 km-long x 3.5 m-diameter TBM drive for cable tunnel underway between new transformer cavern and existing Amsteg power station. 27/02.  Herrenknecht has completed the assembly of the first Gripper TBM, machine S-229, for the Gotthard base tunnel north. The 9.58 m-diameter TBM will excavate the eastern tube (11,350 m) of the Gotthard base tunnel between Amsteg and Sedrun. Assembly at the jobsite in Canton Uri will start in mid-March 2003. AGN, the JV consisting of Murer and Strabag, ordered two Herrenknecht hard rock TBMs for this section in February 2002. The second TBM will drive the western tube (11,350 m).Both machines weigh 1,200 tonnes each without the backup system.Representatives of AGN took delivery of the machine on 16th January in the presence of AlpTransit Gotthard AG. The machine is now being disassembled to be transported to Switzerland where pre-assembly is scheduled from March at the tunnel portal prior to full assembly in the start cavern. Excavation will start end of May. The second machine (S-230) will start three months later on the western tube.Herrenknecht has its own subsidiary in Amsteg, in close proximity to AGN's jobsite. The Swiss affiliate works in close cooperation with cutting tool supplier RUAG in Altdorf to achieve the best efficiency on AlpTransit projects, both at the Gotthard and Lötschberg.Four Herrenknecht Gripper TBMs will be in operation at the Gotthard base tunnel, the longest railroad tunnel worldwide with a total length of 2 x 57 km, to excavate a total of 75 km of tunnel. Visit www.herrenknecht.com and www.alptransit.ch 06/03.

BASF MEYCO Fireshield 1350 fire protection mortar was used on this project   Located at Goppenstein, 4.1 km Ferden access adit to be driven through gneisses and schists in the Aare massif. Also Fystertella ventilation tunnel 1.735 km and 365 m shaft to be raise bored at 1.8 m and enlarged to 5 m. This will connect via a ventilation chamber to the twin main tunnels. May 1998.   Tenders invited for 9.4 m-diameter single-track tunnel to be driven in three lengths from Mitholz near Frutigen at north end using TBM or drill/blast. Also TBM drives at south end for 3,073 m Steg tunnel, 4,100 m west bore to Ferden and 2,000 m to Raron. February 1999.   Awards expected in August and October, 1999. May 1999.   Contract awarded to jv of Skanska, Rothpletz & Lienhard, Walo Bertschinger and Ilbau for 2 x 7.5 km-long Mittholz central section to commence March, 2000. November 1999.   Steg 3.073 km access tunnel, 4.117 km TBM drive at 9.4 m-diameter, and 2 km-long drill/blast section awarded to Matrans jv comprising Marti, Walter, Porr and Balfour Beatty in equal quarters. Value $160 million. Mitholz jv reported earlier is actually led by Ilbau, and includes Dumez-GTM together with the three other partners already listed. Contract due to be signed February, 2000 at a value reported as $315 million. November 1999.   Open tendering, deadline 4th September, 2000, for construction of 8.5 km of 62 - 78 sq m running tunnels accessed from the base of the developing Ferden adit. The office handling this project is BLS AlpTransit AG, Aarestrasse 38 B, Postfach 3601 Thun, Switzerland, e-mail info@blsat.ch or visit www.alptransit.ch May 2000. Construction of 1.5 km drill/blast and 9.2 km of 9.4 m-diameter Raron TBM tunnel awarded to Matrans consortium of Marti, Walter, Porr and Balfour Beatty.Visit www.balfourbeatty.com May 2000.Balfour Beatty, reports that contract value of Raron twin 10.7 km tunnels with optional 1 km extensions is $150 million. Client is BLS AlpTransit AG, a subsidiary of SBB Swiss Railways. Visit www.balfourbeatty.com July 2000.   DBT Mineral Processing GmbH reports that it is supplying three crawler-mounted mobile impact roller type SB 1315R crusher plants to process the 1.8 million cu m of solid rock to be excavated in the two 9.5 km south tunnels and the single 7.4 km north tunnel. The crushers will be fed by side-dump loaders at the face and moved up after every blast. Crushed rock of -200 mm sizing will be discharged onto a telescopic belt conveyor installed in the roof of the tunnel. Visit www.dbtminpro.de July 2000. Three Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer XL3 C and two L2 C computerised drillrigs to be delivered to Schweizer Alp Transit Consortium (Satco) for driving main running tunnels north and south from base of Mitholz access adit. Visit www.atlascopco.com July 2000. Award to consortium of Losinger, Prader, Bouygues, Deneriaz, Evequoz, Imboden and Theler of $65 million construction contract for 12 km of tunnel off four faces at Ferden access towards Bern and Valais, starting May, 2001 and completing late-2005. Visit www.blsalptransit.ch 15/01. Award of $170 million drill/blast contract for 7.1 km-long, 9 m-diameter twin-tube section of Lotschberg base tunnel to Bouygues for completion early-2005. Visit www.blsalptransit.ch 28/01. BLS AlpTransit reports that 66 km, or 75% of the total tunnel system, has been driven, mainly by drill/blast using Atlas Copco drillrigs. The Adelrain fork cavern has been excavated on the drive N from Mitholz, and the west tube is now underway with 600 m to go to Frutigen portal. The 9.7 km Mitholz drives S are 67% complete, and the Ferden drives N are around 30 %, while Ferden drives S are virtually finished. At the Raron end, the Herrenknecht TBM drives N are well advanced, with the west tube complete, and the 9.7 km east tube 65% complete. The 4.5 km drill/blast west tube portal drive is 76 % complete. Visit www.blsalptransit.ch 13/03. As of 1st April, 2003, progress at the Lötschberg base tunnel reached 67,493 metres which represents 76.6% of the whole tunnel system. In Frutigen, the first 120 m of the west tube have been excavated. Delicate work is presently under way to drive the east tube under the embankment supporting the existing BLS line.Heading north from Mitholz, there is only 200 m to go before the junction with the Frutigen west tube. Breakthrough is scheduled for mid-May. Heading south, the tricky karstic area in Doldenhorn, 2.7 km in length, has been crossed without too much trouble. The teams are now gearing up towards the last risky geological area at the Lötschberg with two difficult stretches composed of crumbly materials. More than 2.3 km of internal concrete lining has already been installed in the east tube. The spoil management facilities have processed so far 472,000 tonnes of concrete aggregates.In Ferden, the southbound east tube has been completed on 2nd April and teams are now concentrating on the north drives. The internal concrete lining (invert and side walls) is being installed. The Steg/Niedergesteln teams are drilling the cross galleries between the west and east tubes. The concrete lining works are due to begin this month heading for Rarogne. The Ferden-bound Herrenknecht TBM, which started in Rarogne, reached km 6.5 while in the west bore, miners have only 1 km to go. Breakthrough is expected for the summer. Visit www.blsalptransit.ch 16/03.Consortium SATCO tunnelling from Mitholz encountered the Vorlos tunnelling team working from Frutigen on 14th May, 2003. This second breakthrough at the Lötschberg base tunnel took exactly 1,000 calendar days. The tunnel includes a 7,492 m drive, 22 transverse tunnels, a service station and a crossover cavern. The majority of the work (7,024 m) was performed from Mitholz by SATCO using the drill/blast method. Tunnellers working from the north portal in Frutigen drove the first 120 metres of base tunnel in difficult conditions in unconsolidated rock and just 5 m below the BLS rail line which remained in operation while work was in progress. 80% of the total tunnel system has now been driven. Visit www.blsalptransit.ch. 22/03.By end-January, 2004 Satco had excavated almost 23 km of tunnel. They were awarded a further bonus kilometre towards Ferden in the south, and a contract to mine an 800 m-long parallel link close to the Frutigen portal in the north. As a result, Satco will excavate 26 km of tunnel by mid-2004. Meanwhile, concrete lining is underway in the east tube, with 300 m completed in the north drive, and more than 5 km in the south. More from wolfgang.lehner@satco.ch or visit www.blsalptransit.ch 08/04.

Twin tunnel to be bored by Marti jv using Herrenknecht ex Pomy. May 1998.  North tube breakthrough by Herrenknecht 11.7 m-diameter TBM achieved May, 1999 by contractors GTG, a jv of Marti, CSC, Comina and Pierre Freiburghaus. TBM dismantled and taken back to start for south tube to complete by October, 2000. Maximum daily advance 21.6 m with average of 13 m. Steelcord muck conveyor from TBM to portal with 400 m cassette. Korfmann fans and Grindex Matador pumps. Segment prefabrication at site produces six 1.8 m rings/day using forms supplied by Bernold and CBE. 28 cm-thick ring comprises 5 x 9 t segments plus key. Sept 1999.

To be driven in opposite directions from two shafts by 12.3 m-diameter Herrenknecht TBMs: one a hard rock, the other a dual-mode Mixshield slurry machine. First machine launched at Allmend Brunau shaft towards Thalwil, Sept 1998. 9.4 km long to connect with proposed Gotthard AlpTransit tunnel at Nidelbad. Contracting jv of Prader, Locher, Wayss & Freytag. Nov 1998.   Two TBMs now at work, with 12.29 m-diameter south drive machine 3 km into its 5.6 km drive having recorded a best day of 39.1 m or 23 rings while completing 673.2 m of tunnel in June, 1999. First 330 m of north drive being undertaken by second TBM in rock mode using disc cutters and conveyor belt. Following 150 m will be in slurry mode using hydraulic spoil pipelines to surface separation plant. Machine will then complete the bulk of the 2.7 km drive in rock mode in molasse. The final 700 m will be in soft mixed ground with extra drag picks on the cutterhead. Lining comprises seven bolted segments and key, 12.04 m outside diameter and 11.44 m internal diameter. Aliva pumps are used at both TBMs to pump pea gravel into the annulus. Segments are transported by converted Kiruna trucks. There are vehicle turntables behind each TBM. Zimmerberg will connect with AlpTransit Gotthard in a continuous tunnel, possibly using the same machines. Sept 1999.   South section TBM driving 5.6 km from Allmend Brunau to Nidelbad in typical Sweetwater molasse has passed the halfway point and completed 673.2 m in June, 1999 with a best day of 39.1 m or 23 rings. Conveyor capacity is 1,100 t/h using 1 m-wide belt at 2.2 m/sec. Major constraint is the rate at which spoil can be removed from site because only 13 trains/day can be handled. However, 100,000 t surface stockpile will smooth rockflow. First 330 m of 2.7 km north drive was in hard rock, then TBM was converted to slurry mode for 150 m following which it will revert to hardrock configuration. Visit www.herrenknecht.com November 1999.  Rail 2000 Thalwil junction and 900m/1,300m branch tunnels completed using drill/blast to connect with advancing cut and cover. TBM face in main tunnel left ready for AlpTransit drive to Nidelbad when finances are available. Herrenknecht TBMs completed drives in both directions from Allmend Brunau shafts and removed for storage. 27/02.

  7.2 km-long Rangsit Road project mobilising with shafts under construction at 600-700 m intervals by Italian Thai Skanska jv. Two Herrenknecht 3.2 m-diameter EPBs for delivery end-December will install 2.6 m i.d. pipes commencing early-2000. Some drives will be around curves. December 1999.

Bangkok Transit System received first $87 million to commence construction of 23.7 km Green Line. North and south sections of Blue Line scheduled for completion 2003. NATM consultant: Geoconsult E-mail office@gcs.co.at contact F L Jansky. Nov 1998.   $650 million 10 km-long twin-tube 5.7 m-diameter south section with nine stations under construction by jv of Bilfinger & Berger, Ch Karnchang, Kumagai Gumi and Tokyu Construction and will use two Herrenknecht EPBs ex-Taipei and two new Kawasaki machines. The Herrenknechts will start in July 1999 from Queen Sirikit station and will bore 4.8 km to Hua Lamphong station by mid-2001. The Kawasaki machines will start from the Rama IX station and drive 3.4 km to Queen Sirikit. Precast segmental concrete lining comprising 1.2 m-wide rings of five segments and key with hydrophilic gaskets. Rates of 15 m/machine/24h day are expected in the homogeneous, low-abrasive, boulderless clay. Principal design engineer Maunsell Asia. $770 million 10 km-long north section of similar dimensions with another nine stations under construction by ION jv comprising Italian-Thai, Obayashi and Nishimatsu using four dual-mode open/EPB machines from Kawasaki. Two machines launched from Ratchada station box early-1999 and two from Thiam Ruam Mit station box in April, 1999. Diaphragm walling and core excavation of station boxes is well underway along the route and will be completed ahead of each TBM arrival. Main consultant Ove Arup, sub-consultant for tunnels Geoconsult. Handover scheduled for 2002. June 1999.   First TBMs commissioned for 11 km Bangsue-Lat Phrao-Depot northern section of planned 20.5 km MRTA Blue Line by ION joint venture under $1 billion contract. 9 km of 6 m-diameter twin-bore tunnels and 9 stations designed by Arup Transport. ION comprises Italian Thai, Obayashi and Nishimatsu. Planned southern section of line will extend via Bon Kai to Hua Lum Pong station. August 1999.   Bilfinger & Berger reports completion of 190,000 sq m of diaphragm walls up to 1.2 m-thick for the stations using special equipment in restricted working heights. Foundation levels of stations up to 46 m below ground, with centre columns resting on 1.8 m-diameter piles, 70 m-deep. Dewatering avoided because of fears of settlement. Jet grouting employed to strengthen ground around TBM launch and reception positions and at pump sumps and adits between main tunnels and intervention shafts. Visit www.bilfingerberger.de for further information. October 1999.   SNC-Lavalin awarded three-year, $150 million lump-sum contract in joint venture with Ch Karnchang of Bangkok for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of trackwork and power systems for the whole 20 km-long metro system. More details at www.snc-lavalin.com November 1999.Total length of eight twin tunnels connecting stations is almost 15 km. Four 6.3 m-diameter EPBs have been used: two launched from Phra Ram 9 station in May/June, 1999; and two from Queen Sirikit National Convention Center station in Sept/Oct, 1999. By April, 2000 nine of the sixteen drives were completed with a peak advance of 35 m/day, erecting 1.2 m-wide, 30 cm-thick, 5 + 1 concrete segment rings. Visit www.bilfingerberger.de and www.herrenknecht.com August 2000.   BMCL Co, a subsidiary of Ch Karnchang, together with Mitsubishi Electric and Alstom, to raise funds for provision of services under its 25-year MRTA contract for the 20 km-long subway being built from Hua Lamphong to Bang Sue, opening end-2002. Visit www.alstom.com 15/01.   CKSL consortium, comprising Ch Karnchang and SNC Lavalin, has completed laying 1 km of track from Rama IX maintenance centre to Thiem Ruam Mitr station. The 60 km tracklaying contract from Bang Sue to Hua Lamphong is progressing at 50 m/day for completion May, 2002. Visit www.snc-lavalin.com 40/01.   MRTA planning 13.8 km-long extension of metro from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae, beneath Ratanakosin Island. Soft loan sought from JBIC, with 0.75% interest, 10 year grace period, and repayments over 40 years. Economic internal rate of return for extension is 14%. 44/01.  Phase I of a 8.7 km blue Line extension from Hua Lamphong to Bang Wa is awaiting approval by the Committee for the Management of Land Traffic (CMLT). The project includes 4.9 km of tunnels and four underground stations. The MRTA has completed the preliminary design. Project to be implemented under design/build contract. A single tunnel will be located in east Bangkok while a twin tunnel will be built in the west side in Thonburi. The line will cross underground the Chao Phraya river at Pak Khlong Talart. Visit www.mrta.or.th 04/02.

Tinsa will build a 11,820 m tunnel for Akenerji, as part of the Uluabat hydropower project in Bursa province, Marmara region. The excavated diameter is 5 m and the lined diameter 4.3 m. The project also includes a surge tank and down surge tunnel. A Herrenknecht slurry and hard rock mixshield will be used. The geology is weak metadetritic formation with clay zone on most of the length (10,800 m) and limestone (1,500 m). The tunnel will be lined with six 1.2 m-long precast concrete segments per ring, produced by the contractor Tinsa. Mucking-out by locomotive and muck cars. The expected date for tunnelling start is eight months from now. Visit www.akenerji.com.tr, www.tinsa.com.tr and www.herrenknecht.com 31-32/05.

  Wayss & Freytag using Herrenknecht 6.5 m shield completed first 550 m in very unstable soil consisting of sand, silt, clay and gravel using bentonite and foam. Another 550 m tunnel and two at 800 m to be driven. Best advance 25 m/day. June 1998.   Second section in two parts: 3.2 km line through stations at University and Bornova involves 836 m tunnel, 1,480 m cut-and-cover and 715 m at surface; alignment through stations at Bahceliever, Haimevieri, the Islamic Institute, Poligone and F Altay involves 2.19 km of double-track tunnel with internal diameter of 11.8 m to be driven through andesite using NATM techniques. March 1999.   Prequalification for phase two cancelled and sent back to the drawing board. Plans now involve constructing just the section from Bahceliever to F Altay which now will comprise a 1.35 km bored tunnel and 2.85 km cut and cover, subject to detailed design. New prequalification planned for May, 2000. October 1999.   General contractor Yapi Merkezi reports completion of 11.5 km first stage with ten stations from Ucyol to Halkapynar including the workshop and depot area in less than four years. $600 million contract was handled on a turnkey basis by Adtranz-Yapi Merkezi for Municipality of Greater City of Izmir. Five of the stations and 5.8 km of the line are underground. The stations at Konak, Cankaya and Basmane were constructed by cut-and-cover 10-13 m below sea level using 25-33 m-deep diaphragm walls. The Ummuhan Ana twin tunnels of driven length 2.75 km were in waterlogged ground comprising sands, silts and clays. They were constructed by the Herrenknecht 6.54 m EPB using a VMT guidance system and lined with 1.2 m-wide, 5.7 m elastomeric-gasketted precast concrete 7 + 1 rings. Average advance was 19.2 m/day on the fourth drive with a maximum of 28.8 m or 24 rings in 2 x 12 h shifts. Measured settlements were less than the 10 mm allowable. Foam and bentonite injection was available on the machine. More from www.yapi-merkezi.com November 1999.Consortium of STFA Muhendislik and Semaly on design and engineering for 5.2 km second stage from Ucyol to Fahrettin Altay for end-2000. Invitations to tender for construction are expected early-2001. Visit www.semaly.fr Sept 2000.

3.7 m-diameter Herrenknecht EPB, machine No. M-715 with VMT semi-automatic guidance system, screw conveyor, and articulated shield supplied for 2 x 3.5 km-long project. M-715 is already in Ashgabat since early July 2002. On-site assembly in August-September 2002 for tunnelling start in October 2002. Lining rings consisting of five segments plus key. Geology is mainly stiff to hard loam (clay, silt, sand) with ballast in the south part of the city. Groundwater table varies from 1 m below the surface (northern part) to 5 m below the surface. Maximum coverage of 13 m, maximum pressure of 1 bar. First bore expected to break through in about one year. Planning and design of second drive not ready yet. Construction company is Construction Association Interbudmontazh (CAI) of Ukraine. Client is the municipality of Ashgabat. Visit www.herrenknecht.com and www.vmt-gmbh.de 32/02.

Two 6.25 m-diameter Herrenknecht EPB TBMs, machines No. S-218 and S-219, with VMT semi-automatic guidance systems, screw conveyor, and articulated shield being supplied for 8 km drive with radius of 300 m and 5 km drive. Segment design by Herrenknecht, Ceresola and PSP. Universal rings, OD 6,000 and ID 5,400 with six segments plus key. Segments to be installed using bolts, with central socket for mortar injection. Geology consisting of clay and silt. Ashgabat's geology is made of loam, sand and sections of crushed gravel. Soils are mostly cohesive with groundwater table ranging from below to above the tunnel alignment. Some sand lenses have to be expected imbedded within a stiff silt-matrix. S-218 being shipped from Antwerpen to Turkmenbaschi. Arrival in Ashgabat end of August 2002. On-site assembly in September 2002 for tunnelling start in October-November 2002. S-219 is still in Schwanau, Germany and will be transported in about two weeks. Contractor is Ukrainian company Construction Association Interbudmontazh (CAI). Client is the municipality of Ashgabat. Visit www.herrenknecht.com and www.vmt-gmbh.de 32/02.