The two building sections Göstritz and Fröschnitzgraben of the Semmering Base Tunnel are finally connected after seven years. Only ten percent is missing for the entire completion – but this proves to be particularly challenging.
One exciting moment remains: the breakthrough in a tunnel when the two tubes meet. Numerous companies and workers have worked on this for seven years. It was therefore great that the masterpiece was realized on Friday. The two construction phases between Göstritz (Lower Austria) and Fröschnitzgraben (Styria) are now connected.
In Göstritz, the miners encountered the tunnel boring machine “Carl”, which was still in the mountain in the Fröschnitzgraben section. This is currently being disassembled piece by piece, the front part – the drill head – is disassembled last. A narrow “passage” in the cutting wheel nevertheless allowed miners from the two structures to meet for the first time in the tunnel.
“About seven years after the start of work on the Gloggnitz section, a first important milestone has been reached towards the completion of the Semmering Base Tunnel,” said project manager Gerhard Gobiet. Only a few meters are missing in the second tube.
90 percent done
In total, 24 kilometers of the 27.3 kilometer long tunnel, or 90 percent, has been completed. But the still missing part is heavy and poses major geological challenges, especially a fault zone in the Grassberg during tunneling towards Gloggnitz (Lower Austria).
According to ÖBB, there is an “extremely complicated mountain structure” with completely different rock layers (hard, soft, aquifer, dry). The tunnel work has been interrupted for a long time, the mountain had to be stabilized first. However, tunneling using excavators and blasting was recently resumed. 900 meters are still missing.
Construction costs rise to almost four billion euros
The commissioning of the more than 27 kilometers long railway tunnel had to be postponed several times. The current assumption is the turn of the year 2029/30. Estimated construction costs also rose to 3.9 billion euros.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
