THE TUNNEL UNDER BRATISLAVA CASTLE HAS BEEN COMPLETED

01. 09. 2010

Constructors have completed work on the reconstruction of the tunnel under Bratislava Castle. The reconstruction of the structure, financed by the Capital City of Bratislava, started in May 2009 and was finished on 31 July 2010. The total cost of its implementation amounted to € 6.145 mill. VAT excluded.

The tunnel was constructed in 1943-1949 as a vehicular passageway, and trams have been operated in it since 1983. At the moment, it is the only tram tunnel in Bratislava and it underwent its last large reconstruction in the 1980s. The tunnel is 792 m long and up to 500 tram units go through it every day. The reconstruction has increased the comfort of passengers because the trams travel on a new balastless track.

The goal of the reconstruction was not only to enhance the safety of the traffic in the tunnel so as it would comply with strict EU standards but also to increase the speed of trams passing through the tunnel. “Before the reconstruction started, trams could pass through the tunnel at the maximum speed of 30 km/h, or even only 10 km/h in the last months. Thanks to the reconstruction the speed increased up to 50 km/h,” said Dušan Chovanec, the Sales and Economic Manager of OHL ŽS, a.s., organisational unit. The tunnel is newly fitted with a lighting system through its full length, has new interlocking installations and is permanently monitored by means of cameras. Concurrently, the emergency corridor opening into Bratislava Palisades was also cleared. During the reconstruction, the water forcing pipeline was also relocated under tram tracks.

Investorem rekonstrukce bylo Hlavné mesto Bratislava, zakázku realizovaly společnosti OHL ŽS, a.s., Skanska BS a.s. Prievidza  a Trnavská stavebná spoločnosť a.s.

Basic data about the construction: