Prior information notice of start of award procedures on 27.05.2010 for general safety upgrade and restoration of six road tunnels to RABT 2006 standard, value EUR26.5 million, commencing winter 2010 with Herkulestrasse, value EUR7.54 million. For further information contact Stadt Koeln, tel +49 221221-23647, fax –28715, e-mail zentrales-vergabeamt@stadt-koeln.de. For details of all tunnels involved in this project visit tunnelbuilder archive de/106. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062973-2010. 10/10...

Vicenzetto Srl of Villa Estense have secured the EUR587,987 contract for test drilling and boring work in Brenner Base tunnel. Contact Johann Hager at BBT SE in Innsbruck, tel +43 5124030, fax +43 5124030-110, e-mail ava@bbt-se.com. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062301-2010 and www.vicenzetto.it. ..

The CPV consortium, formed by CSC SA (Lugano) and Pizzarotti SA (Bellinzona), signed the EUR43 million contract for the construction of Lot 854 at Vezia, the main lot of Ceneri Base Tunnel, including the south portal, 200 m of cut-and-cover tunnel, as well as drilling, blasting and lining both tunnels along a length of 300 m. Works at Vezia will continue until 2016. Commercial operation of the Ceneri Base Tunnel with scheduled train services is planned to start at the end of 2019. Of the total of 40.19 km of the Ceneri Base Tunnel, at the end of February 2010, 7,673 m, or 19.1%, had been ..

Imtech Austria Anlagentechnik GmbH of Linz have secured the contract for supply, installation and commissioning of ventilation equipment for the tunnel section of the Harter Plateau tramway line. For more, contact Ing. Harald Grogger at Managementservice Linz GmbH in Linz, tel +43 7323400-7982, fax -157982, e-mail h.grogger @ linzag.at. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=059736-2010. 10/10...

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA is inviting companies to prequalify for civil engineering work on railway tunnels in Italy. Further information and documents from Iacomino Raffaele at Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato in Milan, tel +39 02637 148-19, fax –20, e-mail dns-qs@rfi.it to whom requests to participate should be sent. Visit

Pre-feasibility study being undertaken by ILF Consulting Engineers for construction of single track railway line along the Karakorum highway between the end of the existing railway network in the south at Havelian and the border between Pakistan and China near the famous Khunjrab Pass in the north.

Prequalification underway by MTR for tender reference no 703 for West Island Line SHW to SYP tunnels value EUR30 million with a view to selective invitations to tender being issued in 4Q/2008 for contract award in 3Q/2009. Expressions of interest to Malcolm O’Neill, tel 3921 3383, e-mail moneill@mtr.com.hk Visit www.mtr.com.hk/eng/tenders/new_projects.html 45/08.

Mexico City officials have celebrated the erection of the country’s largest ever TBM with a cutterhead turning ceremony. Next week, the 10.2 m-diameter Robbins EPB will begin driving a 7.7 km-long tunnel for metro line 12, the city’s first new route in ten years.

The TBM was assembled for the ICA Consortium at the jobsite in a 17 m-deep launch shaft.  Crews assembled the machine in a concrete cradle at the shaft bottom, using gantry cranes to lower in components including the forward and rear shields, cutterhead, and screw conveyor. Testing of all sub-assemblies is currently underway. 

This is the first-ever EPB TBM to be assembled at the jobsite using Onsite First Time Assembly (OFTA). The Robbins-developed process allows TBMs to be built initially on location, rather than in a manufacturing facility. This eliminates in-shop assembly and disassembly time and reduces shipping costs because smaller components are involved. 

The small launch shaft, approximately 34 m-long by 14 m-wide, is located in one of the most densely populated areas of the city. The TBM will excavate the first 70 m of tunnel using umbilical cables connected to back-up gantries on the surface. The gantries will be lowered into the shaft in sequence as the machine bores forward and creates the necessary space. 

Ground conditions in Mexico City are unique, requiring extensive vibration monitoring. Layers of clay, sand, and boulders up to 800 mm in diameter are expected, as the area is part of a drained lake. The machine is uniquely designed to fit the conditions, utilizing a two-stage, 1,200 mm-diameter ribbon-type screw conveyor to handle the large boulders. The machine will also feature active articulation, used to prevent deformation of the segment rings on curves as small as 250 m radius.

Line 12 is scheduled to go into operation in 2011. The 24 km-long route will pass through 22 new stations between Tlahuac and Mixcoac neighbourhoods. The Mexico City metro is one of the world’s largest, with over 200 km of rail and nearly 4 million daily passengers. For more click mx/11 and visit www.robbinstbm.com. 04/10.