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FCC Environment CEE,
awarded a contract for
cleaning of drainage systems in two of Aus-
tria’ railway tunnels
FCC Environment CEE (A.S.A.) was awar-
ded the contract put out to tender by the
Austrian Railroad Company (ÖBB) for clea-
ning the drainage systems of the 11 km
long Wienerwald Tunnel and the smaller
Pomersdorf tunnel.
The contract also contemplates the elimi-
nation of waste from pipes and audio-visual
recording of the pipes before and after the
cleaning process. This tunnel cleaning pro-
cess is to be performed twice a year.
This type of railway tunnel cleaning work
is being carried out without closing traffic
thanks to an innovative technology that
enables train to travel at a speed of 250-300
km/hour while work is being performed.
Cleaning will begin in November of this year
and will be performed in 500 metre-long
sections by means of remote control from
the exterior of the tunnel. The machines
that will be used to clean the drainage pipes
will also be able to retransmit the process in
real time using a camera.
Innovative technology
The Austrian Railroad Company (ÖBB) launched the tender process in 2013 and gave
all bidders the opportunity of acquiring the technology necessary to be able to clean
the drainage of the tunnels without having to shut traffic. In this way, tunnels would
only have to be closed for two hours to be able to introduce the machinery inside the
tunnel and anchor it.
This represents a great advantage for ÖBB since it is not necessary to divert railway
traffic, a very expensive operation