[4/22/2008 ]
The boring of the Citytunnel in Malmö is finished
On Monday the tunnel boring machine Katrin broke through the concrete wall at Malmö C which concludes one of the most difficult tasks of the Citytunnel.
”It is an important day for the project. We are all happy that the tunnel driving has been successful. The boring is finished a little before schedule and the work has been carried out with great accuracy and precision”, says the Citytunnel project manager, Örjan Larsson.
Katrin’s breakthrough took place about a month after the break through for Anna, the first machine. Katrin started to bore in Holma in the beginning of February 2007. She has covered the 4.6 kilometres in 14 months, which is a bit faster than the sister machine Anna.
”Both machines have done very well, especially during the last leg from Triangeln to Malmö C, despite the fact that we knew in advance that this was the most complicated distance with a sharp turn and bad rock with lots of cracks and water”, says Johan Brantmark, assistant project manager in subproject Tunnels.
Risky work
The tunnel boring phase is one of the most complicated parts of the Citytunnel Project.
”Work under ground is always risky and it is impossible to know what kind of problems one might run into. By working systematically with risk management in cooperation with the contractor MCG, the boring has been carried out without any greater setbacks. We are very happy”, says Johan Brantmark.
Half the project remains
Even though the Citytunnel project is more than half way, the project manager Örjan Larsson thinks it is too early to relax.
”We are happy to be somewhat ahead of schedule and on budget, but a lot of work remains. The cross tunnels are not finished yet and a lot of work remains in the stations and in Lockarp. In addition to that the railway installations in the tunnels remain and all the installation work in the stations.”
The Citytunnel project in Malmö consists of 17 km of railway connecting Malmö Central Station with the Öresund Bridge, as well as linking up the Scania railway network and increasing rail traffic capacity for the future. Six km passes underneath central Malmö, and the other 11 km is surface railway.
Malmö Central Station is being extended with an underground section. New stations are being built at Triangeln and Hyllie, south of Malmö.
The first spit was dug on 8 March 2005. The Citytunnel is planned to be complete in 2011. The budget for the project is SEK 9.45 billion at 2001 values.