Breakthrough of the final tunnel at Hallandsås in Sweden

The main challenge was to dig through the varying types of rock in a horst, a raised fault block created by movements in the earth's crust some 70 million years ago. In addition, the tunnels run 150 m under the water table, under a hill saturated with water up to the surface, through loose ground that is extremely permeable in places.

Three years after the breakthrough of the first of the two Hallandsås railway tunnels, the Tunnel Boring Machine will soon be completing its work. The project is due to be completed in 2014 and the two tunnels are due to enter service in 2015.

This project forms part of the programme for the refurbishment of the Malmö-Gothenburg railway line, the objective of which is to increase traffic on the line significantly and to double the maximum weight of goods trains. It comprises the design and construction of the two tunnels (length: 5,500 m each; internal diameter: 9 m), together with the construction of 12 cross-passages.

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