On 8 march 2024 BBT SE and H53 Consortium consisting of Porr Bau GmbH, Marti GmbH Austria and Marti Tunnel AG Switzerland completed the factory acceptance of Wilma. This will be the first of the two TBMs, manufactured by Herrenknecht in Schwanau, to be used for the H53 Pfons-Brenner lot,  the largest construction section of the Brenner Base Tunnel in Austria.

The names of the two TBMs are actually the result of a cooperation between BBT and RegionalMedien Tirol, which asked its readers to suggest names. The first letters of the two TBM names stand for the location of the tunnel that the TBM will drive: Wilma for the west tunnel and Olga for the east (Ost in German) tunnel. Around 400 people submitted suggestions. Each of the two double-shield TBMs Wilma and Olga - weight 2,680 t and length 180 m - have to cover a distance of around 7,500m through hard rock, towards Innsbruck with a drive power of 4,550 kW. They will each produce a 10.37 m wide tunnel tube (excavation diameter) and more than 600,000m3 of excavated volume. 

The first machine, Wilma, will be transported to the H53 Pfons-Brenner construction site, south of Innsbruck, in individual parts from mid-March to the beginning of May, with the first heavy haulage taking place after Easter. Factory acceptance of the Olga, the second TBM is set for April. The tunnelling work will begin in autumn. 

In addition to Wilma and Olga, the TBMs Flavia, Ida and Lilia are also underway in the construction lots of the Brenner Base Tunnel. 

For further information on the project click here, at/16 and it/103 for the tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.bbt-se.com/ and https://porr.at. 10/24.