Chuv tunnel

Construction of The CHUV (Canton De Vaud) Railway Station in Lausanne,Switzerland presented several problems for contractor JPF Contracting Co. Situated close to Lausanne’s major hospital complex the design is curved and on a steep slope between two tunnels. The southern tunnel, which is 500 m long, was excavated using a 2,5 tonne Indeco HP 4000 breaker, and entailed the removal of about 35000 m3 of mainly limestone rock. Fitted to a Liebherr 934 excavator the HP 4000 has an impact energy of 5650 J and is capable of delivering 370 to 820 blows/minute. Thanks to its intelligent hydraulic system, which increases or decreases the blow frequency according to the hardness of the material, the HP4000 was able to excavate 40 m3/hour.