MODANE – Sold out for the Open Days at the Turin-Lyon CO5a construction site. Around 800 people visited the underground construction site in Villarodin-Bourget/Modane this weekend, a few kilometers from the Italian border, where part of the Mont Cenis base tunnel is under construction. It is the first time that this construction site, at the center of the new Turin-Lyon railway line, opens its doors to the general public. Among the visitors there were almost the same number of French and Italians.
Families, students and enthusiasts, accompanied by professionals from TELT and partner companies, were able to discover the technical characteristics and challenges of the work and then descended into the heart of the mountain to see first-hand the places where part of the tunnel is being excavated longest railway in the world.
The experience on the construction site platform
Upon arrival on the square, an information path accompanied visitors in learning about the work and the construction site through videos and explanatory panels presented by TELT professionals. The tour explored various aspects of the project, including the role of TELT and the territories, safety, the geology through which the tunnel passes, water management and the treatment of excavated materials. Virtual reality viewers allowed us to experience the immersive experience of the excavation and fly over the ten construction sites of the base tunnel underway between France and Italy. Also on display are models of two TBMs and a 3D model of the base tunnel. On display in the external square were a series of impressive construction machines, explained by the companies.
Discovering the gallery
The visitors then traveled by minibus through the descent, a 4 km tunnel with a gradient of up to 12%, which descends until it reaches the heart of the mountain at the level where work is underway on the tunnels through which the trains will pass. A point that is located exactly halfway between the two future international stations of the line in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Susa. In this maze of tunnels and technical caverns, the construction professionals explained the different excavation methods used and illustrated the management of the logistics of the construction site, including vehicles, workers and excavation materials. A stop in the caves where the tunnel boring machines, 22 meters wide and 20 meters high, will be mounted, made it possible to explain the different excavation power of these underground giants capable of proceeding at an average of 15-20 meters per day, compared to the 4 meters of advancement of the traditional method (with the jackhammer or explosive).
The Villarodin-Bourget/Modane construction site
In this area the group made up of VINCI Construction Grands Projets (agent), DODIN CAMPENON BERNARD, CAMPENON BERNARD Center Est, WeBuild, MASTER DRILLING Europe, is completing the construction of all the tunnels of the Modane underground safety site and several technical caverns , which will be used for the assembly of the two cutters which will then dig towards Italy. Starting from this construction site, 22 of the 57.5 km of the base tunnel will be built. Here the workers work 24 hours a day in 3 shifts for a total of around 300 people employed on the construction site. There are currently over 2,500 workers employed on the 10 Turin-Lyon construction sites. Currently, 37 km of tunnels have been excavated for the project (22.5% of the 164 km to be excavated), of which 13.5 km are base tunnels.
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