Swiss tunnel project awarded

A consortium including a subsidiary of the Austrian-based Porr group, Porr Suisse, has been awarded a CHF125 million (€116.08 million) deal to build a rail tunnel in Switzerland.

The 5.86km Albula Tunnel II in Graubünden has been designed to enhance transport links between Upper Engadine and the Chur and Landquart region.

Owned by Rhätische Bahn, it will be built over the next four years and is due to be completed in August 2019.

It will replace the existing Albul Tunnel I - which is more than 100 years old and considered too costly to repair.

There will be 12 cross-connections between the new tunnel and the existing one it replaces, which will be converted into a safety tunnel.

Karl-Heinz Strauss, CEO, said, “Albula Tunnel II will be built at 1,800m above sea level and is technically demanding because of the geology of the area.”