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.

The first Fire Protection and Safety in Tunnels conference is being held in Paris 17-18 November, 2009. The programme is designed to help attendees comply with industry safety standards, optimize risk management, and achieve safety excellence. With road and rail tailored streams, individual legislation and issues relating to these areas can be discussed in-depth. Some of the leading figures in tunnel safety and operation have been enlisted for guidance through these complex issues. For the full programme of speakers, and the issues they will address, go to www.vibevents.com/fpst/index.html. 44/09.

Construction of the 5.5 km-long Eskoriatza-Aramaio section on the Vitoria-Bilbao-San Sebastian high-speed railway, of which 3.5 km is underground, is going well. Excavation of the 390 m-long twin track Mazmela tunnel was completed on 16.10.2009, a week after excavation of the similar 475 m-long Uruburu I tunnel commenced. Both tunnels, which have a cross section of 85 sq m, are located in Escoriatza municipality, Guipuzcoa province. Click es/100 for history of this project. 44/09.

CAT 328D LCR compact radius excavator, the first of its type to operate in Switzerland, is at work on the A9 Autoroute project near Visp. With a rear overhang of just 305 mm and tailswing radius of 1.9 m, the machine provides a stable, compact, productive unit for tunnelling contractors that is ideally suited to work in restricted areas. Read the full press release and click here to find out more about Caterpillar products for tunnelling. 42/09.

DYWIDAG-Systems International (DSI) is a global network of wholly-owned subsidiaries and associated companies with a key focus on developing, manufacturing and supplying high-grade products and systems for the underground market. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the group has more than 2,000 employees worldwide. As a result of consolidating its underground activities, DSI is able to provide a full range of strata control products backed with technical support and innovation to customers everywhere. All of DSI’s North and Central American underground activities are coordinated from a central production facility in Salt Lake City, US. Europe, Middle East, and Africa underground activities are coordinated in Pasching near Linz, Austria, while the Asia Pacific DSI central production plant is located in Bennetts Green/Newcastle, Australia. In South America, DSI supplies customized products and systems to regional underground markets from its local production facilities in Brazil, Chile and Peru. Additional production facilities in several other South American countries are currently being established. Here as everywhere, customers profit from the transfer of technology between DSI subsidiaries that have developed an expertise in all aspects of strata control technology.

The latest and largest Sandvik production facility is located in China’s Shanghai Jiading Industrial Zone, and has the capacity to manufacture most of the Sandvik Mining and Construction product range, from drill rigs to crushers and loaders. The 24,000 sq m Jiading factory has the finest production technology, and is triple certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001 standards.

The 40 km-long Downtown Line DTL, which is fully underground, is being built in three stages. DTL1 is targeted for completion in 2013, DTL2 in 2015, and DTL3 in 2016. The completed line will facilitate direct travel from the north-western and eastern areas of the island to the Central Business District (CBD) and Marina Bay. Click sg/23 and visit www.lta.gov.sg. 42/09.

On 24.09.2009, the 9.9 m-diameter NFM Technologies TBM completed excavation of the east tube of Los Pontones rail tunnel (5,939 m) on the 6.1 km-long section from Pajares tunnel to Sotiello, in Lena commune, Asturias province, part of Variante de Pajares. Along the way, the 2,000 t TBM with 7,900 kW of installed power excavated 1,105.5 m in one month, exceeding the previous record of 1,012 m for a +9 m-diameter TBM set on Madrid metro extensions.

Of the 151.8 km of the tunnel system under the Gotthard, a total of around 137 km, or almost 91%, has now been excavated. Less than 5 km of the 57 km base tunnel itself remains to be broken through. On 16.09.2009, shortly before 4 pm, Herrenknecht TBM Gabi II broke through between Erstfeld and Amsteg in the west tunnel, completing the excavation works for the base tunnel on the north side of the Gotthard. By covering a distance of 7.2 km in only 18 months, the TBM arrived in Amsteg half a year earlier than planned. Read the Herrenknecht press release.

US-based firm Echelon is to deploy its traffic guidance solution to control traffic at the Elb-Tunnel in Hamburg, Germany. The traffic system uses LonWorks control technology, which uses embedded light emitting diodes to guide cars through the 3.2km tunnel optimising traffic flow and reducing pollution, according to Echelon.

A dedicated tunnel construction version of the Caterpillar® 328D LCR compact radius excavator is proving highly productive on the A9 Autoroute construction project near Visp, in Switzerland. The first machine of its kind to operate on a Swiss contract, the 328D LCR uses a special dedicated front attachment designed and constructed by German Caterpillar dealer Zeppelin.

Sharjah’s Diftah – Shis highway, a route that will link the port of Khor Fakkan on the East Coast of Sharjah Emirate to Diftah in the central region, blasted its way into the local record books this week as the project team achieved their first of two tunnel breakthroughs – and in turn created the UAE’s longest rock tunnel

Halcrow has been appointed to the role of owner’s engineer for Jordan’s critical USD 1 billion water conveyance system. Jordan is considered one of the ten most water-scarce countries in the world and city residents are subject to severe water restrictions. High population growth and the depletion of groundwater reserves are threatening to aggravate this situation in the future.

EFNARC, the European Federation for Specialist Construction Chemicals, has launched the EFNARC Nozzleman Certification Scheme. In the past, EFNARC has produced well-respected Industry Guidelines and has made significant contributions to European Standards and now believes that it is time to concentrate on the other key link in providing high quality sprayed concrete – the Nozzleman.

The second phase of the Cairo Metro Line 3, launched in parallel with the construction of the first phase, includes separate packages covering civil, electromechanical and railway works, and is scheduled for completion in October, 2013 after 51 months of work. This new section consists of a 6.2 km underground line extension eastwards, starting at Abassia station and ending at Heliopolis, with four new stations at Cairo Fair, Stadium, Kolliet Al-Banat, and Al-Ahram Street.

The EUR458 million Dali-Lijiang single-track railway line opened to traffic on 28.09.2009 in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The 162.4 km-long track, designed for train speeds of 120 km/h, will shorten the journey time from four hours by bus to less than an hour and a half by train. The rail line, with 47 tunnels totalling 78 km in length and 76 bridges totalling 22 km, will cater to nearly five million people from Dali, Lijiang, Diqing and Nujiang. Construction began in December, 2004, when completion was set for June, 2008. However, complex terrain and repeated revisions of the plan, including a decision to use electricity for traction instead of diesel power, led to delays. The line will next be extended to Shangri-la, and then to Lhasa in Tibet. 41/09