The two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will each excavate around 7.5 km of the main railway tunnels, one in the west tunnel and the other in the east tunnel of the Brenner Base Tunnel. In tunnelling, it is a mining tradition to give the tunnel boring machines female names.
The names have a special meaning, especially for the miners, most of whom spend years working underground with these huge boring machines. Instead of giving the TBMs technical names, in the Brenner Base Tunnel, for example, we have “Serena”, “Virginia”, “Flavia”, “Ida” and “Lilia” which have excavated, or are still excavating, deep below the earth’s surface.
Together with the Brenner Base Tunnel company BBT SE, RegionalMedien Tirol is calling on readers to send in name suggestions for the two sibling machines. They are still nameless - they are currently being assembled at the Herrenknecht plant in Schwanau.
