"Mole" is here

The U2 tunnels will be bored from the fall

The tunnel boring machine specially built for the extension of the U2 line (photo) is slowly being made ready to go.

(Bild: APA/Wiener Linien/Tobias Holzer)

It consists of 27,000 individual parts and was specially manufactured for the expansion around the U2xU5 public transport junction: the tunnel boring machine (TBM), which is now slowly being made ready for use. From the fall, it will be digging its way through Vienna's underground.

The first large components of the "subway mole", which is 120 meters long and weighs 1200 tons, have already arrived. Construction has now begun at a depth of 30 meters on the U2 construction site at Matzleinsdorfer Platz.

The TVM is being tested on the surface and is already partly assembled here, then a gantry crane will transport the segments into the subway shaft. Ready for use, the "subway mole" is 120 meters long and weighs 1200 tons. With a diameter of almost seven meters, the purple cutting wheel is the largest individual part.

Wiener Linien is putting the name to a vote
According to Wiener Linien, a name is still being sought for the equipment. The vote at www.wienerlinien.at/tunnelvortriebsmaschine runs until the end of July. It is a tradition in the mining industry to give tunnel boring machines a female first name. Ida (for "innovation through expansion"), Grabara or Debohra are the suggestions available.

Once the station structures and track replacement systems for the individual subway stations have been built, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) is put to work. It will construct around four kilometers of U2 tunnel between Matzleinsdorfer Platz and Augustinplatz in the seventh district.

Digging through the ground with 1200 HP
From the fall, the TVM will start with a drive power of 1.92 megawatts, which corresponds to around 2600 HP. It will be able to dig up to ten meters per day. The excavated earth will be transported away via the central shaft at Matzleinsdorfer Platz. According to Wiener Linien, this saves 20,000 truck journeys through the city and 75 tons of carbon dioxide.