The Luxembourg National Railway Company (CFL) held a press conference about a month ago to provide an update on the progress of the repair work but did not specify when the tunnel will reopen. On Thursday, members of the press were invited to the site, but there is still no date.
Stabilising the 400 cubic metres of rock that slipped into the tunnel following maintenance work in September is “more complicated than initially thought,” according to the CFL, which described the situation as an “infinite hourglass.”
During the maintenance works in question, the vault had been opened up, and because of the drought, rock had slipped through the hole onto the tunnel from above. This rock, as well as the rock masses in the tunnel, is currently being stabilised. This process is expected to take another three to four weeks. After that, the rock in the tunnel can be gradually removed.
However, this does not mean that the tunnel will be reopened in three to four weeks. The CFL states that it understands that people are angry, “but safety is more important than speed.”
The anchorings are driven 180 metres into the mountain from above, which works better now than it did at first. As a result, the CFL believes it will be able to communicate a date “next month.”
However, there is some good news: as of 8 May, the construction site at Burden, where a rock face had slid onto the tracks, is anticipated to be completed. Trains to Wiltz should resume running from there on that date.
Full report by RTL Télé (in Luxembourgish):
