THE 3756m Eierberge tunnel, which German Rail (DB) says is the longest in Bavaria, has been holed through. The Euros 140m tunnel is also the longest of eight being built on the new high-speed line under construction from Halle via Erfurt to Ebensfeld, which itself is part of a Euros 10bn project to upgrade the 500km Berlin - Nuremberg corridor.
THE 3756m Eierberge tunnel, which German Rail (DB) says is the longest in Bavaria, has been holed through. The Euros 140m tunnel is also the longest of eight being built on the new high-speed line under construction from Halle via Erfurt to Ebensfeld, which itself is part of a Euros 10bn project to upgrade the 500km Berlin - Nuremberg corridor.
"Today marks an important milestone," said DB CEO Mr Rüdiger Grube at a ceremony to mark the event on August 29. "With the completion of the engineering construction, tunnels and large bridges, which are due this year and next, we are on schedule for commissioning this important new European connection in 2017."
When the line opens journey times will be slashed. Berlin - Nuremberg will be cut from 4h 55min today by ICE to 2h 40min and Munich will be about 4 hours from Berlin instead of 6h 15min.