Perschling chain breakthrough by Herrenknecht TBMOn 11.03.2009, after meeting serious challenges during the construction phase, the Herrenknecht S-319 12,980 mm-diameter, 3,200 Kw single shield TBM Simone broke through at the 2.15 km-long Raingruben tunnel on the Vienna to St. Polten railway in Austria. Raingruben is the last in the Perschling chain, a 6.3 km-long section of the new two-track Westbahn, which includes the Stierschweiffeld (2.857 km) and Reiseberg (1.327 km) tunnels, where tunnelling started in December, 2005. Geology is marl, sandstone and siltstone. The client is the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), the contractor is Strabag, and ILF is responsible for the tunnel design, construction management and geotechnical engineering on site. Click at/34. Visit www.ilf.com, www.strabag.com and www.herrenknecht.com. 14/09.