In Semmering the end of the excavations is in sight; there is only 200 meters left in a tube! The first trains should run at the end of 2029. How things are going on the construction site now.
Maybe Gerhard Gobiet can celebrate a particularly relaxing Christmas this year. Maybe. Because if all goes well, the workers in one of the two Semmering tunnel tubes will realize the final breakthrough before the turn of the year. More than 200 meters are still missing on the Lower Austrian side. The second tube contains approximately 300 meters. The excavation there is expected to end in the first quarter of 2025.
“99 percent of the excavations have been completed,” said Gobiet, who heads the mega project for ÖBB, in an interview with the “Krone”. On the Styrian side, the latest breakthrough was celebrated in the summer of last year.
A battle with the mountain
As is known, the last meters are often the most difficult and that is also the case in this case. In the Grasberg area there are perhaps the most geologically difficult conditions in the Eastern Alps. After all: with the so-called Grasberg north edge fault, the miners have already mastered the most difficult area, but the “Schlagl fault” that still needs to be mastered is also a challenge.
Progress has long been made on the Styrian side: the inner shell of the tunnel is being built here at full speed. Of the total 55 kilometers, 35 have been completed.
Contract worth 176 million euros awarded
Last week a milestone was announced: the contract worth 176 million euros for the railway equipment went to the two companies Rhomberg and Porr. You now have to prepare everything by September 2025 so that you can then start the installation – from the portal in Mürzzuschlag to Gloggnitz (Lower Austria). This includes the cabling, the complete technical equipment and all safety features.
The slab track with rails will then be laid from March 2027 to 2028. The contract will be awarded at the end of this year through an EU-wide tender process – the manufacturers will then need two years’ lead time. Finally, the overhead lines and lighting will follow.
“From the current perspective, we can put the Semmering base tunnel into service in December 2029 with a change in the timetable,” says Gobiet confidently – we are even a few months ahead of schedule. The costs have increased several times over the course of the project and have amounted to approximately 4.2 billion euros since the previous year.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
