NEWS |


Transpennine hat-rick with drainage TBMs


Snowy 2.0 project reset AUSTRALIA – The cost of Snowy 2.0 pumped storage scheme has risen to A$12bn (US$7.8bn) and the JV builder is moving to an incentivised target cost contract model following a reset of the hydro scheme, the project developer recently announced. Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes


said the project reset would enable the commercially sustainable and successful delivery of the project. Snowy Hydro said the fixed price EPC


contract with Future Generation Joint Venture (FGJV) – comprising Webuild and its subsidiaries Lane and Clough – was no longer fit for purpose and it will be moved to the new model. Snowy Hydro would settle all outstanding claims with the contractor. “Moving to an incentivised target


model with FGJV will result in closer collaboration, stronger oversight and alignment of interests between Snowy Hydro and FGJV, ” said Barnes. As part of the reset, Snowy Hydro is


increasing the scheme’s capacity by 200MW to 2.2GW with first generation in 2027 and full service before 2029. The review also included a reset of the gas-fired Hunter Power Project. Webuild welcomed the revised delivery


Above: Triple bore array below live rail line for Yorkshire drainage tunnels


UK – The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) recently celebrated a triple triumph in tunnelling with successful drilling of an array of three parallel new drainage tunnels beneath a live rail line at Ulleskelf Mires, in North Yorkshire. In the UK’s first operation of its


kind, three TBMs worked side by side beneath the four-track line, approximately 14.5km south of York. The TRU East Alliance, comprising


Network Rail, J Murphy & Sons, VolkerRail, Siemens, and Systra, did the tunnelling in 54 hrs. The three drainage tunnels, each 17.8m-long and 1.8m in diameter, replace two 179-year-old brick arch tunnels which were built on poor ground conditions and were at the end of their service lives. The tunnel investment will


improve drainage and allow for more frequent, faster, heavier trains.


6 | December 2023 The three TBMs, named


‘Katherine’, ‘Nicola’ and ‘Emma’ – after the three project managers on the scheme – removed 615 tonnes of earth. Tamper trains were on stand-by


to ensure the tracks above were in working order and the railway was fully reopened on time. The TRU is a multi-billion pound


investment programme to upgrade the railway infrastructure between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York. TRU East Alliance is responsible for the works between Leeds and York. As part of the upgrade to deliver


more frequent, faster, greener trains on a more reliable railway the 113km route is being electrified. TRU is currently devising plans to fit overhead line equipment in the 5.2km-long Standedge Tunnel and 3.2km-long Morley Tunnels.


timeline and budget, and in a statement said the change followed a comprehensive review “of power optimisation opportunities, the contracted schedule, cost impacts and broader delivery challenges.” Snowy 2.0 has faced headrace tunnelling


delays after a surface depression developed where the TBM was passing from softer material into harder rock conditions. Stabilisation works were performed tunnelling is to resume after regulatory approvals.


Shetland explores tunnels plan UK – Proposals for a series of subsea tunnels to replace Shetland Islands’ ferries have moved a step closer with a meeting scheduled between Shetland Islands Council and the UK Government. Discussions are ongoing with the Scottish Government. Four tunnels are proposed, to connect:


the mainland to Yell; Yell to Unst; the mainland to Whalsay, and to Bressay. The local authority’s tunnel project aims


to replace the region’s aging ferry fleet, which has an average age of more than 30 years, and connect all the main islands by either subsea tunnel or a new ferry service.


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