The Gotthard Base Tunnel is 57.1 km long, while the cross-border TELT (Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin) between France and Italy is planned to be 57.5 km long. Cable car and conveyor technology provider Doppelmayr will be involved with its RopeCon system for the excavation work.
For ELYOT, the consortium of contractors consisting of Eiffage Génie Civil (main contractor), Spie Batignolles Génie Civil, Ghella, and Cogeis, it will certainly be the longest tunnel in the world. The RopeCon system is scheduled to begin operation at the end of 2025 and will transport the excavated material from the Lot CO 05 construction site as a smart and environmentally friendly solution.
Ministerial visit in April. Photo: TELT
RopeCon is designed to transport 1,350 tons of excavated material per hour over a distance of 850 meters. ELYOT is using RopeCon to supply its tunnel segment prefabrication plant in St. Antoine. This will minimize truck journeys and allow for uninterrupted construction site operations. RopeCon, the first system of its kind in France, will span a public road, buildings, and the Arc River.
ELYOT analyzed various solutions as part of the technical review of CO 05, and RopeCon was identified as the smartest and most environmentally friendly solution for supporting the TELT project. Commissioning of the conveyor system is planned for the fourth quarter of 2025. Its operating life is expected to be five years.
Lot 3 of the 57.5 km long Mont Cenis Base Tunnel, with a contract volume of €228 million, was awarded to a joint venture led by Implenia (34%) in partnership with NGE (25%), Itinera (25%), and Rizzani de Eccher (16%). This section runs from the Villard-Clément portal and is approximately 4 km long.
The TELT project at Mont Cenis
