Semmering Base Tunnel

Overview:

• Semmering Base Tunnel.
• The Semmering Base Tunnel is a 27.3km twin tube railway tunnel linking Gloggnitz and Mürzzuschlag, which will form part of Baltic-Adriatic railway corridor.
• The project is being developed by ÖBB-Infrastruktur, Austria’s federal railway operator.
• ÖBB has sub-contracted construction work for Semmering to a consortium of Implenia and Swietelsky, with contracts also awarded to Amberg Engineering and Strabag.
• Implenia and Swietelsky were awarded the €623 million contract for construction of a 13km section of the tunnel.
• Amberg Engineering and Strabag have been contracted to work on drilling and excavation.
• The tunnel will replace the Semmering railway, a Unesco World Heritage Site completed in 1854 and one of the most-used rail routes in Austria.
• Semmering is being developed with the intention of expediting travel between Vienna and Graz and reducing the amount of goods transported on HGVs in Lower Austria by offering an alternative route for freight.
• Construction work began in 2014 and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Ben Naylor - Regional editor