About ten years after the start of construction in the Fröschnitzgraben, the last meter of the Semmering Base Tunnel has been completed, and the excavation is now complete. The two tunnels, with a length of 27.3 km have now been excavated from Gloggnitz in Lower Austria to Mürzzuschlag in Styria. Over the next few months, the concrete inner shells will be completed and the technical equipment of the tunnels will be installed.
„After ten years of tunnelling, the last metre has been completed. We have reached an important milestone. But there is still a lot of work to be done before our passengers can travel comfortably from Vienna to Graz in less than two hours in 2030. The Semmering Base Tunnel is a sustainable investment in the future of rail transport. As part of the new southern line, it will strengthen the Baltic-Adriatic corridor and the local economy," said Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB Holding AG.
The 27.3 kilometers of the twin-tube tunnel have been excavated and all 14 tunnels completed. 2020 will also see the start of the 'inner lining' of the tunnel tubes. So far, almost 45 kilometers (out of a total of 55 kilometers in two tubes) have been built. Once the inner shell is complete, the final step will be to make the railway tunnel equipment (tracks, cables, technical installations) before trains can finally travel through the tunnel. Construction of the tunnel equipment will start in the summer of 2025 and the first trains will pass through the tunnel in 2030.
