Liefkenshoek rail link inaugurated
Published: Thu, 2014-12-11 14:17Yesterday, the new Liefkenshoek rail link in Belgium was officially opened in the presence of several Ministers, and CEOs. The rail link will enable faster freight traffic between the left and right bank of the city of Antwerp.
Infrabel has been constructing a new rail link since November 2008.
The Liefkenshoek railway link starts at the South yard on the left bank of the city, runs through the new Liefkenshoek railway tunnel and ends at the Antwerp North marshalling yard. The 16.2 km rail section will be ready for use in the Summer of 2014.
The Liefkenshoek railway tunnel consists of two bore tunnels at a maximum depth of 40 m under the Scheldt River and Kanaaldok. The computer controlled excavations were carried out by two tunnel boring machines. The tunnelling shields were given the names Wiske and Schanulleke. The bore tunnels have a total length of 6.7 km and are the longest rail tunnels in Belgium.
Source: Infrabel