THE “TURKISH HILL” RAILWAY TUNNEL IN SLOVAKIA WAS CEREMONIALLY DRIVEN THROUGH

26. 11. 2010

On 25 November, the Turkish Hill railway tunnel, making up a part of the upgrading of the Nové Mesto nad Váhom – Púchov railway line in the Nové Mesto nad Váhom – Zlatovce line section, was ceremonially driven through in the presence of the Minister of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic, Ján Figel´, the General Director of ŽSR, Vladimír Ľupták, CEO of the Transport Construction Branch of OHL ŽS, a.s., Václav Bartoněk, and representatives of suppliers.

The upgrading of selected lines of the ŽSR railway network includes the redevelopment of the existing railway infrastructure with the aim of increasing its technical facilities as well as safety and utility properties by integrating modern components into it and improving its technical parameters. A compact line section will result from the upgrading of the railway line in the Nové Mesto nad Váhom – Púchov line section, continuing the previous line sections from Bratislava. The line section continues the construction of Piešťany – Nové Mesto nad Váhom Corridor V, and after it has been completed, the critical running speed on it will reach up to 160 km/h.

The double-track railway line Nové Mesto nad Váhom – Púchov makes up a part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor V. The Nové Mesto nad Váhom – Zlatovce line section is 17.457 km long and its construction is to be achieved in the following two phases:

Phase I:
- the Nové Mesto nad Váhom – Trenčianské Bohuslavice open line section

Phase II:
- the Trenčianské Bohuslavice – Zlatovce line section (ending behind the Kostolná-Záriečie stopping point)
- Trenčianské Bohuslavice railway station
- Trenčianské Bohuslavice – Melčice open line section
- Melčice railway station
- Melčice – Zlatovce open line section

The most distinctive component of Phase I of the construction is the Turkish Hill railway tunnel which was designed so as the required critical running speed of 160 km/h could be reached. The tunnel is 1,775 m long (of which the length of the driven section is 1738.5 m). The selected version of the tunnel minimizes the intrusion into the Turkish Hill nature reserve both during the project implementation itself and during the line operation in the future. During the preparation of the construction project, all accepted requirements of municipalities and other affected entities were taken into account in the project documentation. These are for example putting temporarily used land back into its original condition and its recultivation, as well as waste disposal, traffic measures, adaptations of watercourse beds, acoustic measures, compliance with sanitary rules and regulations, protection of the environment and the landscape, etc.

Originally, three versions of the route around the Turkish Hill were considered in the elaborated simplified technical analysis with an economic comparison:
- 1st tunnel variant
- 2nd open cut variant – with extensive intrusion into the Protected Landscape Area (PLA)
- 3rd relocation of the line together with I/61 and the Trenčianské Bohuslavice railway station.

The result of the technical analysis provided clear evidence supporting the tunnel variant, the benefits of which include the decreased cost of maintenance of the line in the tunnel (the slab track), minimal intrusion into the PLA (only the portal areas), which was also preferred by environmentalists, and the shortening of the route and travel time and thus also a reduction of the operating costs. Because the tunnel is situated outside the existing railway line, the operation was maintained on the original line during the tunnel construction.

The Turkish Hill railway tunnel was the first tunnel in Slovakia which was designed and constructed according to the technical specifications for interoperability (TSI) applicable to conventional rail systems. This pilot project will also serve as a source which the other railway tunnel constructions that are currently being prepared will draw on.

The tunnel construction began in January 2010. According to the original time schedule, the tunnel driving should be completed in June 2012 and the whole construction, including the underground services, in May 2013. The contractor’s plan to accelerate the construction of the tunnel part has become practical because the tunnel driving in the calotte part is today complete and the driving of the tunnel core will be completed in January next year. Thus, the secondary lining of the tunnel should be completed in December 2011, the tunnel will be equipped with technological devices and a slab track, with the possibility of operating one track of the tunnel in July 2012 while the second track is planned to be put to operation in September 2012.

The contractor started to work on the permanent lining in October 2010. The fact that the tunnel was driven not only from the side of the south and north portal but it was also possible to open the third tunnel face from the tunnel centre in the direction towards the portals due to the extended profile of the escape gallery also contributed to the accelerated construction of the tunnel. All this took place without any increase in the budget cost. The tunnel cut-through in itself was carried out from this third tunnel face. During the work on the tunnel structures, no fatality or even serious injury has so far been recorded.

The most distinctive component of Phase II of the construction is level crossings that must be replaced with the grade-separated type or, if necessary, removed depending on their importance in accordance with the principles of upgrading. The grade-separated crossings are designed as new overpasses in the cadastral districts of the municipalities of Štvrtok, Ivanovce and Kostolná-Záriečie, and underpasses in Trenčianské Bohuslavice, Ivanovce and Adamovské Kochanovce.

There are two railway stations situated in the line section – Trenčianské Bohuslavice and Melčice. To optimize the traffic capacity of the railway line, the Melčice railway station will be closed down and turned into a stopping point. The new Nivy passing point is being constructed in the Melčice – Zlatovce line section.

The general designer of the construction is REMING CONSULT, a.s. The “Nové Mesto nad Váhom – Zlatovce 2009“ consortium, comprising of OHL ŽS, a.s.,  Skanska BS, a.s., VÁHOSTAV – SK, a.s., Doprastav, a.s. and ELTRA, s.r.o., was selected as the contractor on the basis of a public tender. The construction supervision is carried out by “Inžinierske združenie Zlatovce“ (Infram SK, s.r.o. and Bung Slovensko, s.r.o.).

The funding of the project amounting to nearly EUR 264 million (exclusive of VAT) has been secured from the EU Cohesion Fund, and the project is co-financed from the sources of the Slovak Republic under the Operational Programme Transport 2007-2013. Preparatory works commenced on 29 September 2009 when the construction site was handed over to the contractor in Nové Mesto nad Váhom. According to the contractor’s time schedule, the upgrading is to last 44 months, i.e. until the end of May 2013.