In the coming months, ÖBB (the Austrian Railways) will carry out exploratory drilling in the Kufstein area. The aim is to further deepen the planning for a new railway border tunnel in the direction of the Bavarian Inn Valley.

Planning and building a new railway tunnel requires reliable information about the condition of the subsoil. For the further preparatory work for the construction of the new line from Schaftenau to the Bavarian Inn Valley, the ÖBB is about to start a large ground survey. Up to 4 drilling rigs will extract around 1600 meters of drill cores from the subsoil by next spring. The investigation program includes a total of 21 drilling points. The drilling depth is between 30 and 170 meters. The material is then analyzed in the laboratory.

Coordinated procedure with Deutsche Bahn

The ÖBB drilling campaign is carried out in direct coordination with geological investigations by Deutsche Bahn in the Kiefersfelden area. As early as 2021, a selection route was determined by the railways together with the Inntal communities. The infrastructure companies of the railways are now preparing the information required for the approval process. An engineering office coordinates the activities and takes care of a uniform planning.

Geophysical investigations supplement the drilling

In the fall, ÖBB will supplement the drilling in the Kufstein area with geophysical investigations. Through impulses such as hammer blows on the surface of the terrain, measuring sensors can record a two-dimensional image of the soil layers. This is then compared with the results of the drilling campaign.

ÖBB conclude agreements with property owners

Drilling and geophysical surveys also temporarily require the use of private property. The ÖBB and the companies commissioned have already contacted numerous property owners. The ÖBB would like to thank the residents for the predominantly open-minded and accommodating reactions. If the work is occasionally associated with a nuisance, the ÖBB ask for your understanding.

Project exhibition "Adventure Platform" at the main station in Wörgl

The new cross-border railway tunnel into the Bavarian Inn Valley is ÖBB's final expansion project on the Scandinavian-Mediterranean core network corridor in Tyrol. In the neighboring Schaftenau – Radfeld project section, the preparatory work for a carcass tunnel is already underway, and the excavation work for the Brenner Base Tunnel is also well advanced. The new line from Kundl to Baumkirchen has been in operation since 2012. For railway expansion in Tyrol, the ÖBB set up the project exhibition "Adventure Platform" at the main station in Wörgl. With free admission, the exhibition is open daily between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

English translation of https://presse-oebb.at/News_Detail.aspx?id=164060&menueid=27021