Breakthrough in new Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel in Cochem
After more than 130 years, a second tunnel tube is being added to the old Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel - at 4.242 meters one of Germany’s longest railway tunnels - in order to meet current safety standards. Excavation work started in May 2010 from Ediger-Eller through the mountain to Cochem.
After more than 130 years, a second tunnel tube is being added to the old Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel - at 4.242 meters one of Germany’s longest railway tunnels - in order to meet current safety standards. Excavation work started in May 2010 from Ediger-Eller through the mountain to Cochem.
A challenging and important stage of this 200 million Euro construction project on the Mosel line between Koblenz and Trier was completed when after 547 days of driving, the 1.710-tonne tunnel driving equipment broke through the last few centimeters of the new tube on 7th November 2011. Around 900.000 tonnes of rock had been excavated and removed; around 77.000 tonnes of concrete were required for the lining of the tunnel.
The tunnel driving machine is 90 meters long, has a diameter of 10 meters and was specially made for the task of excavating the new Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel.
The actual breakthrough was impressive. The metallic sounds as the steel of the cutting wheel meets the steel anchors in the solid rock and the rock wall first begins to crumble but then falls to the ground almost in one piece, raising a thick cloud of dust…
After the cutting wheel had come to a stop and most of the dust had settled, the team that had dug its way through the mountain over the past few months climbed out between the spokes of the cutting wheel. They were welcomed with applause and congratulated with a miners’ song and the traditional miners’ greeting “Glück auf".
In her role as patroness of the tunnel, when construction started, Mrs. Roswitha Beck (wife of Rheinland-Pfalz State President Kurt Beck), presented the miners and tunnel workers with a statue of St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners. After the successful and accurate breakthrough in Cochem, the miners returned St. Barbara to the patroness of the tunnel.
As soon as the new tunnel tube is completed and put into operation (planned for the end of 2012), the old Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel tube will be modernized and converted to single-track operation. From 2015, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel is expected to be available for two-track railway operations, but in two separate tunnel tubes.
With the new Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tunnel "we are creating a state-of-the-art infrastructural component of the important railway line between Koblenz and Trier", explained Parliamentary State Secretary, Dr. Jörg Sandvoß, Managing Director responsible for sales at DB Netz AG.
Special thanks go to DB ProjektBau project leader, Mr. Bodo Tauch, who was a competent contact person and coordinator for all those involved in the project, including affected local residents.
KREBS+KIEFER Beratende Ingenieure Darmstadt und Mainz was responsible for health and safety coordination for this once-in-a lifetime construction project on the DB Mosel railway line.
