DOKA has been providing bespoke tunnel formwork solutions for a landmark infrastructure project in Vienna to expand the metro underground system.
The project to extend metro line U2 and build U5 —Vienna’s first fully automated metro line — is creating new tunnel and station structures.
Doka has contributed its engineering and execution expertise from 3D planning and pre-assembled formwork units to assembly on site. The firm has been involved in several construction phases, supporting the ARGE U2 17–21 consortium, led by STRABAG and PORR — first at the station Matzleinsdorfer Platz and subsequently at Reinprechtsdorfer Straße, Pilgramgasse and Neubaugasse.
The challenge revolves around multiple underground stations and tunnel sections in a dense urban environment, each with its own geometry, logistics and construction sequence.
At Matzleinsdorfer Platz, an underground tunnel and station structure is taking shape beneath the surface. Doka supplied formwork travellers and tailored solutions for the tunnel structures in the station areas.
Tailored formwork traveller solutions will also be used at the Matzleinsdorfer Platz turnout structure, including widening sections where the two tunnel tubes merge into a single structure.
Doka explained that the complexity of the project becomes particularly evident at the Neubaugasse. A key interchange to the existing U3 line is being built 35 metres below street level. In a highly confined space, station tubes, cross passages, escalator tunnels, ventilation tunnels and crossing structures meet at different angles.
To manage these transitions, Doka developed 3D-planned formwork solutions precisely tailored to the respective geometry. The systems used include the Heavy-duty supporting system SL-1 and the Large-area formwork Top 50.
“When it comes to tunnel construction, every detail matters,” said Harald Zulehner, MD of Doka Austria. “Transportable units are pre-assembled at our Doka plant close to our headquarters and then precisely assembled on-site. This significantly reduces installation work on site and saves valuable construction time.”
