The Burgbergtunnel in Erlangen is one of the oldest tunnels in Germany - completed in 1844 it was the first railway tunnel in Bavaria. Thus it is comprehensive that the tube does not satisfy today´s requirements and there is need for a second tube. The tunnel is part of the railway connection between Munich/Nürnberg in the south and Berlin in the north. This connection - the so called "Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit 8.1" (Traffic Project German Unity 8.1) has been developed as a part of the Transeuropean Network TEN connecting south Europe with Scandinavia.
The new Burgbergtunnel will be located parallel to the old tube. After the completion of the new one the old will be developed and modernized. After completion of the works four rails - two for each direction will be available for both, regional and long distance rail traffic.
The new tunnel will be excavated by the New Austrian Tunnelling Method. The geology of the 307 m long tunnel with crosscut 130 sqm is expected to be challenging due to changing rock solidity and ductility. The maximal overburden will be 38 m. Euro Alliance Tunnels experts will excavate the tube and install the primary lining structure using steel and shotcrete. The excavation works have to be executed extremely carefully as the space between the tubes will be very narrow. Special attention have to be paid to the existing tube with ongoing train traffic. Also challenging will be the narrow conditions on site.
