The open hard rock TBMs, which will be deployed by the Dolomiti Consortium of Implenia and Webuild, each have a 9.68m diameter.
They will be launched on Lot 1from Franzensfeste–Waidbruck – a railway line that is part of the southern access route of the Brenner Base Tunnel.
The route will run almost entirely underground in parallel tunnels. The two main double-tube tunnels are the 15.4km-long Scaleres and the 6.3km-long Gardena.
A new railroad bridge between the two tunnels over the Valle Isarco will comprise two viaducts with a span of 220m.
Following the successful factory acceptance test, the machines will now be dismantled, prepared for transport to Italy and reassembled at the site. They are scheduled to be launched in winter 2026/2027.
During tunnel excavation, the processing and storage of large amounts of rock is expected to be challenging.
