Spotlight: Giants underground (January 2003)
Channel Tunnel Rail Link – HOCHTIEF connects Europe
40 kilometers south of London, the River Thames is being undercrossed by two parallel single-track
rail tunnels 2.5 kilometers in length. They form part of the first new rail route to be built in
the United Kingdom for more than a century. And HOCHTIEF is involved.
“The world underground is always fascinating but what is really exciting is working under water”, says HOCHTIEF project manager Andreas Tauschinger. Three HOCHTIEF units are cooperating in the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project – working hand in hand 45 meters under the Thames. And they are very successful: the hole-through for the first tube took place two weeks ahead of schedule.
The first high-speed trains between the historic capital cities Paris and London will be able to use the tunnel
as early as 2004. This will bring Britain a lot closer to the European mainland – where three other tunnels are
currently also making headway. For example in Switzerland, where HOCHTIEF is helping to build the world’s longest rail tunnel.
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