Breakthrough of tunnel boring machine Ida in the western tunnel tube
With the breakthrough in the western main tunnel tube, another milestone was reached on the Brenner Base Tunnel. GIPO AG is significantly involved in all project phases – specifically in lot H41 with three bespoke products developed in collaboration with the customer.
Mechanised tunnelling operations:
In the summer of 2022, GIPO was commissioned to supply a stationary pre-crushing plant for both main tunnel tubes. The requirements profile itself presented a mountainous challenge. The plant was to be installed in a stipulated cavern, process spoil from both tunnelling operations, and do so with availability of the highest level. The result is convincing across the board:
- Total throughput capacity of over 2,000 t/h
- Proven performance of up to 2,500 t/h
- Erection in the stipulated installation space
- Installation and commissioning in 2023
- Over 10,000 operating hours without major failures
- Feed plate belt for very low feed height
- GIPO B 1470 crusher
After the first breakthrough, it can now be proudly stated that the required availability of the highest level has been achieved thanks to the expertise of GIPO AG. There were no significant system failures or damage during the tunnelling work. The feedback from Christian Pichler, Operations Manager Mechanical Engineering for the ARGE H41 consortium, speaks for itself:
“The plant runs like a Swiss watch, we wanted quality and we got it”
Connecting gallery tunnelling operations:
The success story continued in 2024. Following a simple request to optimise the time required for the connecting gallery tunnelling operations, a concept was developed jointly in a very short time, and then implemented and put into operation in less than three months. With this innovative concept, it was possible to remove the spoil from the connecting galleries directly via a crushing plant and discharge it onto the tunnel conveyor. This design eliminated the need for several material handling and intermediate transport operations, which significantly increased tunnelling performance.
The crushing plant GIPO ST B 0960 used has the following design:
- Feed apron conveyor for very low feed height
- Crusher GIPO B 0960
- Discharge conveyor and subsequent swivelling conveyor to the tunnel conveyor
- The entire plant is rail-mounted so that it can be moved with a locomotive
After a few months of operation, the new concept has proved its worth. Indeed, an order for an additional crushing plant was placed.
This means that three crushing plants from GIPO AG will ultimately be used for lot H41. In addition to high-quality bespoke solutions with high system availability, the customer was also particularly impressed by the excellent cooperation.
