The single-shield TBM with a drilling head diameter of also 10.37 metres, a length of around 160 metres and a weight of 2,420 tonnes (including its backup system) will be named "Ida".
After factory inspection and approval are complete, the machine is now being dismantled piece by piece and transported to the west assembly chamber in Ahrental, south of Innsbruck, where its "twin sister" Lilia is currently being assembled in the east assembly cavern.
Assembly on site inside the mountain will begin in March 2023. After its reassembly, Ida, the "factory inside the mountain", will start moving southwards from the west assembly chamber in Ahrental in spring 2023 on its approximately 8.3 kilometre-long excavation of the west main tunnel. The boundary of this construction lot extends into the municipal area of Navis.
"A name for the TBM"
As with the Lilia TBM, the naming of the tunnel boring machine was very special this time as well, because it was chosen with the St.Peter-Ellbögen primary school, which is also located in the project area of this construction lot. As the principal, Christine Mader-Ofer, revealed, "children and teachers got excited when they found out they were lucky enough" to be able to give the TBM a name.Each child thought up two suitable names at home with their families, following the guidelines of the Brenner Base Tunnel Company, and brought them to school. There, all the suggested names were collected on the blackboard. Each child was allowed to choose two names from this list and cast their vote for them.In the first round of voting, the five favourite names were determined, which then made it to the second round of voting. Once again, each child could name his or her two favourites, and it got exciting.IDA emerged as the winner with the most votes. "The children are already looking forward to admiring their work," Ms Mader-Ofer told us.