Double Breakthrough with Two Lovats in Bologna Sergio Cofferati, the mayor of Bologna, and Elio Catania, the president and CEO of the Italian railways, presided on 31st May, 2006 the breakthrough ceremony of a pair of high speed rail tunnels across Bologna. The ceremony took place at a depth of 23 metres in the Salesiani concrete box, into which the two TBMs at work since the summer of 2003 broke through. The two parallel tunnels, each 6.1 km long and fully lined, link up the area where Bologna's future high speed station is under construction and the bullet train line to Florence in San Ruffillo. Click here and here. Built in three years, the tunnels have continuously kept 400 persons employed at peak activity and have been driven by two Lovat TBMs, each 195 m long with a 9.4 m boring diameter. These EPB shields have achieved average daily advance rates of 10-12 metres, with peaks at 36 metres, ten times more than with the use of traditional digging and lining methods. To guarantee safety during construction, cross passages between the tunnels have been built every 500 metres. For safety during operation, additional cross passages are under construction every 250 metres. Visit www.lovat.com The tunnels from San Ruffillo to the new high speed station are the first section of the urban crossing of the high speed line through Bologna. The 17.8 km route crosses the city from south to west and runs 60% underground. After travelling through the two parallel tunnels from Savena district to the new San Ruffillo high speed station, which will be connected to the mainline station, the line continues to Milan and returns to the surface in Prati di Caprara. A surface route will be commissioned in 2007, which will connect the high speed line from Modena to Bologna's mainline station, while construction will proceed in phases until full completion of the line and new station in 2010. The investment amounts to EUR246 million. Construction of the new high speed station in Bologna commenced in 2004. The first phase entails the digging of a three-storey underground station box, 24 m wide x 650 m long, at 24 metres under the current track level. The high speed station will be connected with the mainline station by three pedestrian thoroughfares and with the urban road network through a new dedicated underground road (inside the station). The facility will also feature 230-space parking lots. The archeological dig is presently in progress at the site of the station as well as preparations and utility relocations while delimitation of the jobsite and consolidation of the perimeter of the excavation are nearing end.The high speed station will consist of a big underground space, approx. 640 m long, 42 m wide and 23 m deep, built on three levels. The deepest level accommodates the high speed tracks while the intermediate storey, at -14 m, is reserved for passenger services. Finally, the level closest to the surface, built at -7 m and also named "kiss and ride", is reserved to vehicular traffic and access to the parking areas within the station and the Salesiani zone. Construction, which is particularly complex, will be carried out progressively in phases from 2007 to 2010. The total value of the investment totals around EUR1.4 billion. Click it/22. Visit www.tav.it 25/06.