Tunnel breakthrough in the heart of the German capital
Dietlikon, 22 March 2017 – The U5 underground railway line is one of Implenia’s most important current infrastructure projects in the European market. A real breakthrough was made today on this section of the U-Bahn in central Berlin when Implenia workers broke through the final concrete wall separating the Brandenburger Tor station from the new U5 tunnel they have built. The breakthrough was made in the presence of Berlin’s mayor Michael Müller, Dr. Sigrid Evelyn Nikutta, Chairwoman of the Management Board and Director of Operations at Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), Ute Bonde and Jörg Seegers, the Managing Directors of Projektrealisierungs GmbH U5, and Stefan Roth, Head of Implenia Germany and Austria. The new tunnel connects the U55 line (which runs between Berlin’s main railway central station and Brandenburger Tor) with the existing U5 line (between Alexanderplatz and Hönow).
Commissioned by the BVG and led by Projektrealisierungs GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BVG, Implenia has been working on the new U5 since 2011. The project includes the extension of the existing U5 from Alexanderplatz to Brandenburger Tor, and the link-up – achieved today – with the U55 line. This stage includes the “tunnel shell construction” sub-project, which began in 2013 when the “Bärlinde” tunnel boring machine was brought into action. The machine drilled two 1.6 kilometre tunnels, one after the other, and lined them with 2,147 tubbing rings. Aided by “Bärlinde”, Implenia’s tunnelling team advanced at a rate of 20 metres a day, which is very good progress given the challenging geological conditions beneath central Berlin. Work on laying the tracks in the new tunnels will begin in a few weeks. Passengers will be able to travel along the whole 22 kilometre section between Hönow and the Hauptbahnhof in 2020, by which time the three new U-Bahn stations will be also be ready: Rotes Rathaus, Museumsinsel and the Unter den Linden interchange. Implenia is also building the latter two stations. You can find out more about the project here.
Breakthrough! Implenia closes the gap between the U55 and the existing U5 line in Berlin. (Picture: Antonio Reetz-Graudenz)
The “New U5” project includes extending the existing U5 underground railway line from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate and linking it up with line U55. This will turn the U5 and U55 into a single line: the new U5, which will then run all the way from Hönow to the main railway station. (Picture: BVG)
Implenia press contact:
Anna Magdalena Lang
Marketing/Communications Manager
Tel.: +49 152 092 956 98
Media contact at Projektrealisierungs GmbH U5:
Dr. Stephanie Niehoff
External Communications Officer
Tel.: +49 30 256 27861
Implenia is Switzerland’s leading construction and construction services company. It also has strong positions in the German, Austrian and Scandinavian infrastructure markets. Established in 2006, Implenia can look back on around 150 years of construction tradition. It brings the expertise of its highly skilled sectoral and regional units together under the roof of a company active throughout Europe. With its integrated business model and specialists operating in all areas of construction, the Group can manage a building project through its entire lifecycle and deliver work that is economical, integrated and customer-centric. The focus is on striking a sustainable balance between financial success and social and environmental responsibility.
Implenia, with its headquarters in Dietlikon near Zurich, currently employs more than 8,200 people around Europe and posted revenue of around CHF 3.3 billion in 2016. The company is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (IMPN, CH0023868554). More information can be found at www.implenia.com.
