Celebrating Saint Barbara at Tunnel Job SitesAccording to legend, Saint Barbara's father Dioscorus closed her up inside a high tower with only two windows, because she didn't want to marry the man he had chosen for her. During her seclusion she converted to Christianity and she made another window appear representing the Holy Trinity. Her father decapitated her but he was punished and struck by lightning. Because of this, she became the patron of everything that explodes, lightning or everything that happens quickly. She is the protector of miners, tunnellers, architects, builders, carpenters, firefighters, masons, construction and electrical workers, artillerymen, artificers, geologists, military engineers and mathematicians. She is also called the guardian of powders.Her imprisonment led to her association with towers, then the construction and maintenance of them, then to their military uses. The lightning that avenged her murder led to asking her protection against fire and lightning. She is usually represented standing by a tower with three windows, carrying the palm of a martyr in her hand. The feast of Saint Barbara falls on 4th December.Brenner base tunnelOn 4th December, Saint Barbara was celebrated at the Brenner base tunnel "Unterplattner" construction site in Aica, South Tyrol in Italy. The ceremony, during which the construction company, workers, engineers, local politicians and representatives of BBT SE prayed to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners and geologists, for her support during the excavation works of the Brenner base tunnel and the exploratory gallery, was held in the now 20 m-deep and 6 m-broad gallery. During the religious service father Alfons Habicher blessed the construction site and prayed for safe construction works without accidents. Click it/103 & at/16. Visit www.bbt-se.comMont Sion tunnelWorkers at the Mont Sion tunnel took a break to celebrate Saint Barbara, patroness of miners, on 4th December, traditionally a day off for miners and, by association, their cousins tunnellers. The mood was then quite different from usual at the northern mouth of the Mont Sion tunnel. All the crews working on the tunnel and local officials attended a ritual blessing in protection of the men and women working underground. Everyone then shared a meal which concluded this celebration day. Click here, here & fr/56. Visit www.adelac-a41.comGotthard tunnelOn 4th December, tunnelling stopped at the Gotthard base tunnel worksites to honour Saint Barbara. In Erstfeld, not only the date was the occasion to celebrate the saint patroness but also the work launch of the last section of the Gotthard base tunnel, with the start of TBM 'Gabi 1' in the east tunnel. Preparatory works such as the assembly of the machine and drill-and-blast excavation of the first 20 metres had began in August 2007. The machine will attain its full output in April 2008. Breakthrough is expected in December 2009. The second TBM, 'Gabi 2' will begin tunnelling in the west bore in May 2008 for breakthrough hoped for February 2010. In Erstfeld, crews will bore two single-track tunnels, 7.2 km each, from Erstfeld to Amsteg, 23 cross-passages and an underground junction for the future construction of an underground railway bypass in Uri canton. Click ch/52. 'Gabi' 1 and 2 are Herrenknecht machines, previously used on the Sedrun-Amsteg section. Read E-News Weekly 29/2006, 48/2005 & 49/2004. Visit www.herrenknecht.com On 29th November, the east tunnel of the Sedrun-Amsteg section holed through. Despite difficult conditions through squeezing rock in the Tavetsch massif, the section was finished six months ahead of schedule. The west tunnel broke through on 17th October. Click here.According to tradition, workers celebrate Saint Barbara with their bosses. But in Sedrun, the tunnellers for the first time celebrated Saint Barbara without the managers of consortium Transco. They have been in conflict for two months with Transco about better work conditions. Among their claims is an additional daily pay of CHF43 and better safety measures. Click ch/22. Read E-News Weekly 43/2007. Visit www.transco-sedrun.chAs of 1st December, crews had excavated 106.3 km (69.3 %) of the total 153.5 km of tunnels, shafts, cross passages and adits at the Gotthard. Visit www.alptransit.comNaples metroOn Saint Barbara Day, a test train travelled for the first time between Garibaldi and Municipio on the Dante-Garibaldi extension of Line 1. The tracks are already laid and before Christmas, breakthrough is awaited between Toledo Street and Dante Square. Excavation of the metro ring connecting the city centre with the northern area will therefore be completed. When breakthrough takes place into Dante station before Christmas, then crews will be able to work on the stations in Toledo, Municipio, Università, Duomo (where the second, parallel TBM has arrived) and Garibaldi. The extended line will enter in service in two years. Click here & it/51. Visit www.metro.na.itVisit http://wirtschaft.fh-trier.de/ri/fell/ortfell/hlBarbara.php?nr=8&unr=4&eTyp=n&Art=&lan=en and www.stebarbe.com/telechargement/sainte-barbe.pdf 50-51/07.