2TDK and the contractors celebrated the breakthrough of all seven Divaca-Koper tunnels, with 37.4 km of tunnels being excavated. With this, 61% of the track will be ready for the future double track.
In June, the contractors of the main construction works excavated the last metres of the Lokev (T1) and Beka (T2) tunnels on the route of the Divaca-Koper second track.
Despite the various challenges encountered during construction, including the challenges of the karst terrain, the excavation work was completed in record time. In September 2021, the main construction contractors started excavating the Mlinarji and Škofije tunnels, with the remaining tunnels soon to follow. In three years, more kilometres of tunnels have been excavated than have been excavated in 30 years on the entire Slovenian motorway network.
“The excavation work is the most unpredictable part of the construction of the second track. Despite the tremendous efforts of geologists, geophysicists, engineers, karst scientists and other experts, we can never be 100% sure of what lies underground,” Director Marko Brezigar at the Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure said. The karst terrain was a particular unknown, with the Beka tunnel breakthrough taking place in a karst cave.
The 430 metres of altitude difference between Divača on the karst plateau and Koper, a few metres above the sea, are the main reasons why three quarters of the second track line runs in 7 tunnels. The total length of Divaca-Koper tunnels is more than 20.5 km and including the service and rescue infrastructure, 37.4 km makes the tunnel system of the new second track project that will provide additional capacity for rail transport.
The service tubes, which run parallel to the three longest tunnels, Lokev, Beka and Škofije, are built in the same cross-section as the main tunnel tubes. This will make 61% of the line ready for future double-tracking.
“We have not faced small challenges, we have faced many in three years: we have faced a major drought, the fires in the Karst [Plateau] two years ago, many Turkish workers left their homes when their country was hit by a terrible earthquake in 2023. But despite all the unfavourable external factors beyond our control, construction has not stalled, and despite all the setbacks, it has been going pretty smoothly all along,” Matej Oset, the CEO of 2TDK said.
The second Divača-Koper track is the largest infrastructure project in Slovenia. After the excavation works, concrete works follow in the tunnels, the portals must be completed, then the electromechanical installations, signalling and telecommunication devices and the laying of the tracks must be completed.
The EUR 1.1 billion Divača-Koper second track project covers the construction of a 27 km rail section of which 75% (20.5 km) are built in tunnels, and two viaducts and two bridges are also being built. In 2023, the EIB committed to co-finance 21% of the project value providing a EUR 250 million loan.
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