Recent and future railway tunnels in Belgium

INTRODUCTION In the past decade, two major railway projects have been dominating the building activity in Belgium. A 300 km long high-speed railway network has been constructed, including 2 major tunnels. This infrastructure has now been completed, the last parts waiting to be commissioned for commercial use. Since a few years, additional railway projects, including tunnel construction are started. Among them is the construction of a regional express network around Brussels, an easier connection to the Brussels airport from the North of the country and a new freight connection between the left and right bank of the river Scheldt in Antwerp. The following describes 4 tunnelling projects for new railway connections. The geological conditions and requirements due by stakeholders, such as surrounding property or construction limitations, of these tunnels are different for each case and have influenced the design and building.