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Tunnelling work on the Fachinger Tunnel successfully completed

Between Diez and Fachingen, PORR is renewing the 426 m long Fachinger Tunnel, which dates back to the 19th century. On behalf of Deutsche Bahn, PORR is working in a consortium with FELDHAUS Bergbau GmbH & Co. KG and Heinz Schnorpfeil Bau GmbH to renovate the tunnel. The tunnel has to be widened in one cross-section in order to guarantee the prescribed clearance gauge. In addition, the track spacing will be increased to 4 m. The widening is being carried out using the tunnel-in-tunnel method under a rolling wheel. The excavation work on the tunnel has now been successfully completed.

The final demolition work on the breakthrough wall

 

© PORR

For over 160 years, the Lahntalbahn has connected the towns in the region between Wetzlar and Koblenz over a distance of around 104 kilometers. The tunnels along the route are getting on in years. The tunnels along the route are being successively renovated to ensure continued trouble-free operation. The Fachinger and Cramberg tunnels are the first to be renovated.

For the renovation of the Fachinger Tunnel, the consortium consisting of PORR Tunnelbau with FELDHAUS Bergbau GmbH & Co. KG and Heinz Schnorpfeil Bau GmbH, celebrated its next success: on November 21, the “Nora” tunnel widening system broke through the tunnel's breakthrough wall. This milestone marked the completion of the 380 m long conventional widening of the 160-year-old tunnel during ongoing rail operations.

The prevailing composition of the rock presented the PORR team with particular challenges. In order to cope with the changing geology of clay shale and keratophyre throughout the excavated cross-section, occasional loosening blasting was necessary during the excavation work. The excavated material fell next to the tunnel widening machine and was transported away by conveyor equipment. During the entire construction work, rail traffic continued to run safely under the protection of an enclosure on a newly laid track in the middle of the existing tunnel.

The tunnel widening system is followed by the concreting train

After the breakthrough, “Nora” is pulled back to the site installation area. During this process, the sealing beams are sprayed, the foundations are excavated, the clean layer is concreted, drainage is installed and the foundations are concreted. As soon as the tunnel expansion system (TAS) has reached the installation area, it is dismantled. The concreting train, consisting of a cosmetic carriage, formwork carriage, reinforcement carriage and transport carriage, is then assembled, lifted into place and moved into position in order to concrete the vault of the inner shell in cycles.

The narrow construction site in the local area and building under railroad operation pose particular challenges for the PORR Tunnel Construction team: “Due to the cramped conditions in the tunnel, we can only use small machines that run on specially laid foundations and rails. In addition, great importance is attached to protecting the water in the catchment area of the 'Fachinger Brunnen' in Fachingen. For this reason, monitoring is carried out to the minute using state-of-the-art monitoring equipment,” says Folker Popp, Tunnel Construction Project Manager at PORR, explaining the special features of the construction site.

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