Aktor uses four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) for the future Brasov – Sighisoara fast railway

Aktor is building two pairs of tunnels on the subsection 2 Apața-Cața of the Brasov – Sighisoara railway line using four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) which have all entered the mountains around Racos, two heading towards Ormenis, and the other two towards Homorod.

By end-January, TBM 3 – Alexandra, which started mid-October last year, bore 123 meters and installed 87 concrete lining rings. TBM 4 – Konstantina followed mid-December and bore 201 meters of tunnel and installed 104 concrete lining rings. They are now inside the mountain.

The two TBMs will realize a pair of tunnels long of 5.1 km in the direction of Homorod. This is the northern pair of tunnels AKTOR builds on this future railway segment and is continuing the southern pair of tunnels (Ormenis), 6.9 km long, where TBMs 1 – Varvara and 2- Eleni started work in the spring. Despite various unforeseen challenges in the terrain, they reached deep inside the mountain, in the Apața direction. TBM Eleni began boring at the beginning of March 2024, and is now over 1.15 km deep into the mountain. TBM Varvara started at the end of May last year and topped 0.76 km deep.

More than 200 Romanian subcontractors and suppliers of parts and services for the constructions on the subsection 2 Apața-Cața of the Brasov – Sighisoara railway line, providing anything from essential construction materials such as precast concrete elements, metal structures, pile casings, aggregates for earthworks, and waterproofing solutions, to specialized services including geotechnical studies, signalling and electrification works, laboratory testing and analysis, as well as design and environmental monitoring. They play a key role in the project implementation, with the AKTOR experts ensuring the quality of their deliverables.

Subsection 2 Apața-Cața is part of the Brașov-Simeria railway line rehabilitation project, part of the Rhine-Danube Corridor, for traffic with a maximum speed of 160 km/h, Brașov-Sighișoara section. The project is co-financed by the European Union, and the contract was signed by the National Railway Company (CFR SA) with the consortium of AKTOR SA – Alstom Transport SA – Arcada Company.