Bad Canstatt awarded to Alpine-Hochtief-W&F JV

4 April 2012

The EUR 290M (USD 386.66M) Bad Cannstatt rail tunnel contract was awarded to the Alpine-Hochtief-Wayss & Freytag partnership. Client Deutsche Bahn gave the JV until 2018 to complete the project. Preparatory work will begin in 2012 with excavation beginning in 2013.

The Bad Cannstatt tunnel in southern Germany will connect Stuttgart Central Station to the yet to be built Neckar Bridge as part of the Stuttgart 21 section of the Stuttgart to Ulm rail link. Approximately half of the 117km link will run through some 16 tunnels. The contract covers 5.5km of single track mainline tunnel with 600m double-track and 400m of single track S-Bahn (metro) tunnel with 600m of double track.

Excavation will be by milling machines and drill and blast as geology dictates. Investigations revealed drained and undrained gypsum of the Keuper unit. A double lining of sprayed concrete and plastic seal will be used.

The line forms part of the 1,500km Magistrale backbone of the Trans European Rail Network. Alpineā€™s tunnelling managing director Josef Arnold said that it was the sixth tunnel the company had won from Deutsche Bahn.