WorldWide Drilling Resource

To be noticed, give us a call: (850) 547-0102 or e-mail: wwdr@worldwidedrillingresource.com &DUROLQH 6WUHHW 3XQ[VXWDZQH\ 3$ :HE 6LWH KWWS ZZZ VWDULURQZRUNV FRP ( PDLO VDOHV#VWDULURQZRUNV FRP )$; 12 MARCH 2019 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Two Breakthroughs are Better Than One Adapted from Information by Bane NOR Bane NOR is working on the Folloban project in Norway, which will provide a two train transportation system between Oslo and Ski, cutting travel time in half. It is Norway's largest transport project, and includes a new modern public hub in Ski. The construction of the Follo track is important for growth and development throughout the Oslo region. It will provide an efficient transport system with increased capacity for both freight and passengers. The trains will go straight through the Nordic region's longest rail tunnel, with a traveling time of 11 minutes. The new Follo track will be over 13 miles long. For two years, two tunnel boring machines (TBMs), Queen Eufemia and Queen Ellisiv, drilled over 5 miles each. Weighing 2400 tons, each TBM was nearly 500 feet long with drill bits specially made for extra hard rock. With the breakthrough at the center of Oslo, the two TBMs com- pleted their journey. This was the first time two TBMs completed drilling at around the same time in one location after drilling such a long dis- tance simultaneously. The two machines broke through into a mountain hall. When the dust had settled, tunnel workers came crawling through the head of the large machines, with flags and cheers. Bane NOR chose this method for drilling the tunnels, and Entrepreneur Acciona Ghella Joint Venture (AGJV) performed the assignment on be- half of Bane NOR. Project Manager Anne Kathrine Kalager said, “We understood early that tunnel drilling machines could be a good choice. With this project we have documented that tunnel drilling, in addition to explosives and more conventional methods, is a good choice for the production of waterproof, long tunnels, also in hard rock, as we have here in the country.” The two TBMs will be disassembled and transported out of the mountain. Work on rail technology has also started to make the watertight tunnel a completed railway system. Two-thirds of the large Folloban project has been completed, and in spring 2019, the last two TBMs will breakthrough at Ski. Follo track is expected to be completed in December 2021. The first tunnel worker came out through the drill head of Queen Eufemia with the Norwegian flag, courtesy of Nicolas Tourrenc. C&G