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Austria opens advanced mine-based tunnel research centre


HS2 announces shortlisted bidders for Phase 2a UK - HS2 Ltd has announced a shortlist of bidders for the Phase 2a Design and Delivery Partner which will build the new section of Britain’s high-speed rail network connecting the West Midlands and Crewe. The winning bidder is expected to be announced in summer 2022. The shortlisted bidders are:


● 2 Connect JV, comprising AECOM and Costain Integrated Services


● AMS JV comprising Atkins, Mace Consult and SYSTRA


● Jacobs UK. The £500m (US$691m) contract will see


the successful bidder partner with HS2 Ltd to lead the design and delivery of the 57.6km Phase 2a route. The role will include management and co-ordination of key contracts for delivering the railway’s detailed design and construction, which includes two tunnels, 17 viaducts, 65 bridges and track along the route. Delivering Phase 2a will build on the work


Above: The newly opened Zentrum am Berg tunnel research centre


AUSTRIA - A new, highly advanced tunnel research and training centre for the development of construction methods, materials and equipment has opened at Eisenerz in the Austrian state of Styria. Located in an abandoned iron-ore


mine in the mountainous Erzberg area, 60km northwest of Graz and around 1,000m above sea level, the Zentrum am Berg (ZaB) facility was opened on Monday 18 October to the applause of 300 invited guests. ZaB will enable research, testing


and development of construction methods, materials and equipment undertaken in life-size conditions. This will include: ● Geotechnical monitoring ● Numerical simulations in geotechnics and tunnelling


● Safety research and technologies ● Tunnel ventilation systems ● Fire detection and fire-protection testing


● Thermo- and aerodynamic research


● Long-term durability of materials ● Effects of climate change ● Low-vibration excavation methods


● Risk management. 6 | November 2021 Education and training under ‘very


high fire loads’ will also be possible for international emergency services. To achieve all this, the centre offers


several kilometres of interconnected tunnels, with the centrepiece being two parallel 800m-long road tunnels; two parallel rail tunnels (each 400m long) and a further tube once used as a conveyor tunnel. Tunnels can be reached via three entry portals. Road tunnels are designed for unidirectional traffic travelling at 100km/h, and have a clear height of 4.7m above the roadway. The centre will cover research


and testing on new methods for both NATM and TBM tunnelling, and also has a segment-testing facility. Twenty national and international partners are said to be already undertaking a wide variety of research projects at the centre. A study programme will also offer students a choice of undergraduate- and postgraduate-level qualifications in tunnelling, geotechnics and mining. Funding for the €30m (US$35m)


ZaB project has come from the state of Styria (€12m), and €6m each from Austria’s education and environment ministries and Leoben University.


done in Phase One, supporting opportunities for businesses and employment. HS2 Ltd recently raised the number of jobs supported by delivery of this latest section of the network to 6,500, bringing the overall total across the project to more than 20,000 roles.


Link Alliance TBM holes through in Auckland NEW ZEALAND - Auckland City Rail Link (CRL) in New Zealand recently celebrated the breakthrough of a Herrenknecht EPB TBM into Karangahape Station. Operated by CRL’s main contractor Link


Alliance, the 7.15m-diameter EPBM ‘Dame Whina Cooper’ cut through a 100mm-thick protective wall of concrete 32m below ground into the Karangahape Station cavern, having tunnelled 860m since its drive began at Mount Eden station in May 2021. Operating 24/7 at peak, the 12-crew


machine was built in Herrenknecht’s factory in Guangzhou, China and shipped to New Zealand in sections. During its drive it has encountered East Coast Bays Formation rock of the Waitemata group – mainly sandstones and mudstones. But covid has impacted the project,


particularly on costs and construction timings. The machine will now complete the final leg of this first 1.6km drive when it arrives at Aotea Station in central Auckland in early 2022. CRL is the largest transport infrastructure project ever undertaken in New Zealand and


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