ABSTRACT
Within the last ten years the Netherlands took the pole position in EU concerning the development in the field of the shield driven tunnelling in soft soils. The Second Heinenoord and the Botlek Railway tunnels functioned as pilots to generate experience and knowledge necessary for forthcoming projects. The main goal is achieved and at this moment (April 2003) there are 7 projects finished and 3 to be completed until 2005. A lot has been learned on tunnelling in soft soils because each project was unique with its own challenging features. For instance, The “Green Heart” tunnel for the High Speed Line Amsterdam Brussels has the largest diameter (14.9 m) ever built in the world. This paper deals with the retrospective of the tunnelling projects in the Netherlands concerning the remarkable experience gained in the last ten years. The most important topics where Holland Railconsult participated are related to lining engineering, construction and materials (high quality, reliable and cost effective), TBM technology (faster and more reliable), geotechnical engineering (more control, more effective soil cutting, mixing and transport), process control in relation to minimising the effect on the surroundings (settlements, foundations, vibrations), contracting issues (contract forms advantages and disadvantages of Design & Build, Design-Bid-Build, etc.) and project management (risk management control, process management).
