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Hallandss Project
Tunnel Construction and environmental
initiative for the future
2 HALLANDSS PROJECT
Malm
Lund
ngelholm
Halmstad
Falkenberg
Varberg
Gteborg
Helsingborg
Kpenhamn
Hamburg
DANMARK
SVERI GE
TYSKLAND
NORGE
Oslo
Trollhttan
Rdby
Travemnde
Frslv
Bstad
VI K E N
B J R E HALVN
S I NAR P S DAL E N
L AHOL MS -
B UK T E N
H
A
L
Torekov
Bstad
Mellbystrand
Karup
V Karup
Grevie
Axelstorp
Severtorp
Hljarp
Glimminge
Frslv
105
115
Vadbcken
S
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n
s

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2 HALLANDSS PROJECT

A major expansion and modernization of
the Swedish railway network is in progress.
The aim is to make the railways efective
and competitive. One of the tracks which is
being expanded to a double track is the West
Coast Line between Gothenburg and Lund
which will then continue to Malm. A modern
railway line along the West Coast will create
greater opportunities for commuting to work
and studies, and more companies may choose
to transport their goods by rail. The West
Coast Line also serves as an important link
for long distance trains, for example, between
Copenhagen and Oslo.
The single track over Hallandss was built
in 1885. For a long time the stretch has been a
bottleneck for the rail trafc along the West
Coast Line. Due to steep inclines and sharp
bends, trains are unable to travel at full speed
or carry maximum freight weight. With two
single track tunnels through Hallandss the
weight of freight trains can be doubled and
the line can be used by 24 trains per hour
instead of the current rate of four trains per
hour. The speed of the trains can also increase
from 80 to 200 kilometres per hour. A double
track through the ridge also reduces the risk
of delays.
The diversity of nature creates challenges
Ten kilometres wide and 40 kilometres long,
the Hallandss Ridge towers above the at
landscape of southern Sweden. The ridge is a
bedrock horst, created by tremendous forces
about 70 million years ago. The geology is
varied and difers in many ways from the
usual Swedish bedrock. Areas of cracked and
disintegrated rock is mixed with rock of good

quality. Parts of the rock contain large amounts
of water where the rock is cracked. These
factors, together with the high water pressure
found in the ridge, create challenges for the
construction of the tunnel.
The environmental work is an important
aspect of the work with the tunnel and
the projects environmental concession
determines how we build the tunnel. It
is, however, impossible to carry out
major infrastructure projects with-
out afecting the environment. Our
goal is to minimize the impact during
the time we build the tunnel and to
avoid residual efects when the
tunnel is completed.
TRANSPORT by rail is
among the least environ-
mentally damaging form
of transportation available
today. Walking, cycling or
sailing can compete with
the railways.
The Environmental
Protection Agency
TODAY, approximately
85 per cent of the West
Coast Line has been ex-
panded to double tracks.
When the West Coast
Line is fully operational, it
will be able to handle as
much freight capacity as a
16-lane motorway.
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The bottleneck in the Hallandss has
been removed
The railways are important for a sustainable transport system. To travel and to transport goods
by rail has an insignicant impact on the environment compared to for example a car or a plane,
this is because the railways are energy efcient and produce low emissions of carbon dioxide.
Any movement of people and goods transferred to rail therefore contributes to reducing our
carbon footprint.
3
Malm
Lund
ngelholm
Halmstad
Falkenberg
Varberg
Gteborg
Helsingborg
Kpenhamn
Hamburg
DANMARK
SVERI GE
TYSKLAND
NORGE
Oslo
Trollhttan
Rdby
Travemnde
Frslv
Bstad
VI K E N
B J R E HALVN
S I NAR P S DAL E N
L AHOL MS -
B UK T E N
H
A
L
Torekov
Bstad
Mellbystrand
Karup
V Karup
Grevie
Axelstorp
Severtorp
Hljarp
Glimminge
Frslv
105
115
Vadbcken
S
t
e
n
s

n
3
THE RIDGES ECOLOGY and water
conditions have been well investi-
gated both by the experts of the
tunnel construction and external
specialists. With the help of about
800 measuring points, we are able
to closely follow the impact the
tunnel construction is having on
the environment.
THE LANDSCAPE of Hallandss
is varied and in places beautifully
captivating. Nature areas meriting
protection, such as heathland,
meadow and swamp forest, are
interspersed with small-scale
farming and forestry.
4 HALLANDSS PROJECT

As sa is working its way for-
ward, the rotary, cutterhead drill
splits of the rock in front of it.
With the help of jacks, sa braces
itself against the concrete tube
behind it.
sa builds a watertight tube behind itself.
The tube consists of segments that are joi-
ned together. This method is called lining.
We ll the space between the concrete
pipe and the rock with pea gravel and ce-
ment grout to obtain a stable tunnel.
4 HALLANDSS PROJECT
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350 people from almost all of Europe and the tunnel boring mach-
ine (TBM) sa are building the Hallandss tunnel. sa is specially
built to meet the varying ridge geology and the high water pressu-
re. sa builds a watertight pipe behind itself. This limits the impact
of the construction work on the use of nature and provides a stable
and watertight tunnel.
This is how the tunnel is built
sa, the TBM, is a 250 metre long tunnel factory. It
builds the tunnel around the clock, seven days a week.
The TBM has 20 people on each shift work as sas
assistants. This is how it works when sa and the
tunnel workers are building the Hallandss tunnel:
Systematically we do probe drilling in front of
sa to acquire knowledge of the rock and water
conditions in front of the machine. When high
water ows are expected we seal the rock in
front of the machine with cement grout, which
is pumped into the borehole from the TBM.
Bstad
Frslv
Ca 8 700 m
eters
The northern adit
Ca 1200 m
eters com
pleted 1997
The m
id adit
Ca 40 m
eters com
pleted 1997
The access tunnel
The southern adit
Ca 1700 m
eters com
pleted 1997
Jacks
Cutterhead
Concrete segment
Concrete lining
Tunnel boring machine
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THE HALLANDSS TUNNEL
Main tunnel length: Two 8.7 km
long parallel tunnels
Inside diameter lining: 9.04 m
Total cross tunnels: 19
TUNNEL BORING MACHINE SA
Length with back-up: 250 m
Weight: 3 200 ton
Cutterhead diameter: 10.6 m
LINING
Total segments: approx 40 000
Segments weight: 12 ton
Thickness: 54 cm
Length:2.2 meter
TIME AND COST
Construction began: 1992. Restart 2003
Trafc to commence: 2015
Cost: A total of SEK 10.5 billion
in 2008 monetary value
TUNNEL CONTRACTOR
Skanska-Vinci HB
CROSS TUNNELS
The two parallel tunnel tubes,
forming the Hallandss tunnel, are
connected by 19 cross tunnels. The
cross tunnels will serve as evacua-
tion routes and maintenance areas
when the tunnel is in operation.
The southern adit is where the tunnel
constructions main workplace is and
lies at the southern opening in Frs-
lv. All the logistics required to make
the tunnel boring machine work is
managed from here. The rock masses
are, for example, taken care of and the
water from the tunnel is puried and
directed out into the sea. The segments
which will seal the tunnel are also
stored here. They are transported into
the tunnel boring machine by under-
ground trains.
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Photo of the southern adit in Frslv.
Bstad
Frslv
Ca 8 700 m
eters
The northern adit
Ca 1200 m
eters com
pleted 1997
The m
id adit
Ca 40 m
eters com
pleted 1997
The access tunnel
The southern adit
Ca 1700 m
eters com
pleted 1997
The Mlleback zone is a 300 metre
long section in which the rock in some
areas is of very poor quality. To make
sas passage through the Mlleback
zone as safe as possible, we stabilize
a stretch by freezing the rock. When
sa has passed the frozen section, the
rock will thaw slowly.
6 HALLANDSS PROJECT 6 HALLANDSS PROJECT
From 1885 to the future
Within a few years we at Hallandss Project will realize a centuries-old dream of a railway
tunnel through the ridge. We are proud of this. But the road has been long and winding. And
there are certainly many people who have doubted whether we would be able to succeed.
In 1885 the steep and winding rail-
road over Hallandss is inaugura-
ted. In the early 1900s the dream of
a tunnel was awakened. But it took
almost a hundred years before any
work began.
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1992-1997: The construction of the
tunnel started in 1992. The contractor
Kraftbyggarna starts the work with a
tunnel boring machine designed for hard
rock only. This soon turns out to be an
incorrect technique. In 1993 they started
to blast their way forward. Kraftbyg-
garna leaves the project in 1995.
Skanska takes over as the contractor in
1996 and continues to build the tunnel
by drilling and blasting. But Skanska
has major problems with water that
leaks into the tunnel, which leads to
the wells on the ridge running dry and
the projects concession limits being
exceeded. In 1997 the chemical sealant
Rhoca Gil is used to seal the tunnel.
In October 1997, the construction of the
tunnel is suspended when the use of
Rhoca Gil led to a release of acrylamide
and caused great concern. One third of
the tunnel is completed.
1998-2001: The National Rail
Administration of the time
(Banverket) conducts exten-
sive investigations on behalf of
the Government into possible
techniques that can be used, the
environmental impacts and the
costs of a continuing the tunnel
construction. In 2001 the Parlia-
ment and the Government gives
the green light to a continued
tunnel construction.
Expansion of the municipal water
distribution network is started
and the local water supply is
secured for a continued tunnel
construction.
1991: It was when the government decided
to renovate the Swedish railways in the
late 1980s that the problematic section of
the line across Hallandss came up on the
agenda. A proposal to build a tunnel already
existed. The proposal was investigated and
in 1991 the government decided to build an
8.7 km long railway tunnel between Bstad
and Frslv.
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2015: The rst train will travel
through the Hallandss.

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The rst train is estimated to travel through
the Hallandss tunnel in 2015. One of the major
bottlenecks along the West Coast Line will
disappear and it will be easy and efcient to
travel and transport goods by train along the
west coast. Hallandss will no longer be a barrier
2002-2003: Skanska-Vinci HB is
commissioned to complete the tunnel
construction with a completely new
technique. In 2003, the project was
granted a building permit and a new
concession. Preparations to resume
the construction of the tunnel begin.
between Skne and Halland, or south towards
the continent. The Hallandss tunnel is a small
part of a grand vision of a long-term sustainable
society. A society in which a holistic view, care
for human health and environmental concerns
are natural starting points.
1998-2003: Banverket and
Skanska devote substantial
resources to the sealing eforts
and the environmental work. The
acrylamide is decontaminated
as far as possible and the ridge is
given a clean bill of health.
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2010: The drilling of the eastern
tunnel is completed.
2004-2015: Skanska-Vinci HB
starts to work on the tunnel. sa, the
tunnel boring machine, starts boring
during the winter of 2005. The work
with the tunnel is now progressing
according to the plan. The construc-
tion of the main and cross tunnels
will be nished in 2014.
When the rock work is completed,
the installation of the railway itself
will start, i.e. tracks, signals, electri-
city and telecommunications.
For more information
about the Hallandss Project visit
www.trakverket.se/hallandsas
Contakt:
Trakverket Projekt Hallandss
Vistorpsvgen 96
269 71 Frslv
Tel: +46(0)431-44 20 22
E-mail: projekt.hallandsas@trakverket.se
You are also welcome to visit
the exhibition about the Hallandss tunnel!
The exhibition will inform you in a simple manner of the
complications involved in the construction of the tunnel.
You will nd out more about the Hallandss tunnel and
the modernization of the Swedish railways by watching
the pictures, lms and displays.

You will nd the exhibition at the project ofce in
Frslv, Vistorpsvgen 96. Opening hours are
Tuesday-Saturday 10-16.
Contakt:
Tel: +46(0)431-44 20 91
E-mail: tunnelutstallningen@trakverket.se
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