On 29 August, Norway’s rail infrastructure manager Bane Nor and Strabag – Skanska consortium celebrated the successful boring of the Mount Ulriken tunnel in Bergen. The project is part of Arna- Bergen double-track project that involves 7.8 km of tunnel through Ulriken Mount from Arna towards Bergen.
This is the biggest tunnel boring machine used in Norway to date, and the first time a railway tunnel has been drilled using a TBM in this country. The machine being used in Bergen has been named Ulrikke after the mountain, Ulriken. The Herrenknecht-built TBM is 155m long and weighs 1,800 tonnes.
Considerable work is still required before the tunnel becomes operational on the Bergen line, including 16 crossings into the old railway tunnel, which also passes through the Ulriken mountain.
Concrete will need to be cast, the tunnel will also be protected against water and frost and channels for cabling need to be complete before work begins on the track and signalling.
In 2014, Strabag – Skanska consortium was awarded a EUR 156 million contract to build the 7.8 km long railway tunnel.
The first train will operate on the new double track between Arna and Bergen in 2020.
Photo: Warren Eversley
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