Monday, March 29, 2010

A Tunnel Through The Alps

Key Data

Country: Switzerland

Location: Swiss Alps

Project Name: Gotthard Base Tunnel

Developers: Alp Transit Gotthard AG (SBB)

Route Length: 57km (35.4 miles)

Tunnel Portals: Erstfeld, Uri and Bodio, Ticino

Gauge: 1,435mm

Summit Altitude: 550m

Power: 15kV ac overhead supply

Constructing Consortia: ARGE AGN, ARGE Transco-Sedrun, ARGE TAT

Rail Infrastructure Consortium: Transtec Gotthard

Workforce: Approx. 2,000

Tunneling Max. Speed : 40m per day

Project Cost (est. 2007): CHF11.83bn/$8 billion

Max. Speed – Passenger: 250km/h (155mph)

Max. Speed – Freight: 160km/h (100mph)

Estimated Completion: 2017

The challenge: Dig the longest tunnel ever, perfectly level, through the base of the Alps

 A cultural and trading barrier across Europe for centuries, the Alps remain so for transport. Implications have been marked in Switzerland as traffic has largely been in transit, rather than for Swiss producers or consumers. A motorway construction programme and the opening of the Gotthard road tunnel in 1980 greatly encouraged freight by road. General concern was joined by the shock of the multiple fatalities in the Gotthard and Mont Blanc road tunnel accidents.

To control adverse environmental effects, the Swiss constitution incorporated Protection of the Alps in 1994. Previously during 1992, Die Neuen Eisenbahn-Alpentransversalen (NEAT) or the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA) programme was approved for building two base tunnels. These were to be relatively level alignments at lower levels than previous tunnels through the massif on the BLS Lötschberg and SBB Gotthard routes.

"The base tunnel will consist of two bores with two track crossovers and multiple interconnections for foot access between the bores."

Commercial operations through the partially fitted out 34.6km (21.5 mile) Lötschberg base tunnel began in December 2007.

The project

Controls on road freight were only deemed acceptable by surrounding EU countries if better rail infrastructure was created, notably at the Lötschberg and Gotthard pinch points. Even with access to dedicated Rollende Landstrasse (RoLa) trains for transit of complete heavy goods vehicles, both north-south routes had long, slow climbs at either side of tunnels at the respective summits and capacity was limited. The NEAT projects were aimed at removing the main limiting factors for the introduction of more, faster and longer trains on the key Rotterdam-Milan rail corridor.

A 100% Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) subsidiary, AlpTransit Gotthard, was established in May 1998 to deliver the project for the 57km (35.4 mile) Gotthard Base Tunnel. Construction is split into five sections, each with a designated consortium, from the north being: Erstfeld (ARGE AGN), Amsteg (ARGE AGN), Sedrun (ARGE Transco-Sedrun), Faido (ARGE TAT) and Bodio (ARGE TAT).

Other contractors are responsible for the many other aspects of the project. As at December 2007, estimated final costs were put at CHF11.83bn, 9.59bn for the Gotthard and 2.24bn for the related 15.4km (9.6 mile) Ceneri tunnel project further south on the route. These amounts exceed the original estimates, with the Swiss parliament approving reserves for uncertainties that included geological conditions, engineering issues and technological developments, the latter relevant due to the long project timescale.

Infrastructure

Of slightly different length, the base tunnel will consist of two bores with two track crossovers and multiple interconnections for foot access between the bores. Entirely to the east of the current Gotthard line, access tracks to the new tunnel joining the present line at Erstfeld in the north and Bodio in the south. At a maximum altitude of 550m, the base tunnel is about 600m lower than the present line's summit and overall renders the Gotthard route no more challenging than many other parts of the SBB network.

To speed the project, intermediate shafts were sunk to allow for simultaneous tunnelling on several faces, these points (Amsteg, Sedrun and Faido) to become integrated in the finished structure for servicing and emergency access. Strict environmental control is in place for the work sites, the material supply chain and for the disposal of spoil.

The tunnels are mainly created by tunnel boring machines, with some use of drilling and blasting. The final section, 7.2km from Erstfeld, began in August 2007 with a target of late 2009 for breakthrough at Amsteg. Aside from the much higher speeds that the new alignment will provide, by avoiding the climbs, curves and spirals of the original Gotthard, the project will shorten the route by around 40km (25 miles).

As in the case of the Lötschberg, the old line will be retained for local passenger services, for general capacity and as a diversionary route: a noted part of railway tourism, it also provides an interchange with the east-west metre-gauge network via Göschenen.

Rolling stock

With freight most constrained by the present line and many trains needing double-heading for both the north and south ramps, an implication is a reduced need for motive power per train. Increased train lengths and weights will be possible through the near-level base tunnel, although in absolute terms the rising traffic demand will not diminish the need for freight locomotives.

Planning allows for advances in freight vehicles to allow for speeds up to 160km/h (100mph) through the tunnel. Longer trains and more of them allow for doubling the present freight capacity on the Gotthard route, much of which will be intermodal services, with Alp Transit setting the amount at around 40 million tonnes annually.

Domestic passenger services south to Chiasso and Locarno are likely to be formed in part by a next generation of Swiss coaching stock or units cascaded from elsewhere on the SBB network. Entering line testing in 2008, the ETR 610 from Alstom Ferroviaria is to become the flagship high-speed unit operating Cisalpino services between Switzerland and Italy. For Zurich-Milan, a 50min reduction to 2h50min by Cisalpino units is envisaged.

Signalling and communications

Following settlement of a legal challenge over the initial selection, the last major contract signed (CHF1.69bn in April 2008) for the Gotthard project was with the Transtec Gotthard Consortium to fit out the tunnel and approach tracks. Starting at the south portal, the work should begin in early 2009.

As installed in the Lötschberg, the Gotthard and Ceneri tunnels are to be fitted with ETCS/ERTMS Level 2 that obviates trackside signals. A leading adopter of the EC-sponsored system, non-EC Switzerland is advanced in the equipping of its rolling stock with the required equipment.

The future

By August 2008, about three quarters of the planned 153.3km of tunnels, related galleries and passages had been excavated. Two aspects of the original project have been postponed indefinitely. The Porta Alpina deep level station planned as part of the Sedrun access point was shelved in September 2007 over concerns relating to cost, value and technical issues.

The 11km second phase of the Zimmerberg base tunnel on the Zurich-Zug section has also been dropped. Becoming the world's longest railway tunnel, commercial operation of the Gotthard Base Tunnel with scheduled train services is now planned to start no earlier than the end of 2017.


Additional info : 

A Tunnel Through The Alps 7,546 feet: Most amount of rock above tunnel

26.5 million tons: Volume of excavated rock

95 miles: Total length of all tunnels and shafts

2,000: People working on the tunnel, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

2.5 million liters: Water used per day

5 megawatts: Power required to operate one of the four tunnel-boring machines Nick Kaloterakis


source : Gotthard Base Tunnel and A Tunnel Through The Alps

The Antikythera – a 2000 year old computer!

From second-century BC Greece, the Antikythera is a mechanical computer that, in terms of complexity, was 1,500 years ahead of it’s time!


It is a shock to discover that the ancients had the abilty to not only design a device of this complexity, but that they had the metallurgucal precision to create it.


Discovered in a wreck in 1900, the device was encrusted with corrosion and it’s true purpose remained unknown until it fell apart some days later, revealing large gears and small cogs and engraved writing in ancient Greek. Advanced imaging has enabled researchers to reconstruct the workings of the Antikythera, showing it could compute and predict astronomical events, including lunar and solar eclipses and the motion of the moon in the sky. The number of teeth on the gears suggested the device followed the 235-month Metonic cycle, commonly used to predict eclipses in the ancient world.


source : Scientific American

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Ketika Cinta Bertasbih

Kritik Dari Atas Bukit Cendawan

Lewat kebelakangan ini dunia filem Indonesia sedang mengalami arus perubahan yang besar. Sebuah gelora seni yang tidak tersangkakan. Muncul pada saat filem nusantara sedang bergelut dengan pelbagai macam penyakit  madani  yang semakin merosakkan nilai, jatidiri dan fikrah. Jadi usaha dan upaya seperti  dianjurkan sutradara Chaerul Umam ini perlu segera diberi perhatian. Dengan gaya tersendiri , Chaerul Umam berjaya menanggapi karya Habiburrahman El-Shirazy ini penuh cermat. Dengan pemilihan barisan pelakon yang cukup sederhana dan Mesir  sebagai lokasi penggambaran utama menjadikan Ketika Cinta bertasbih sebuah karya  yang begitu segar dan  lazat untuk dinikmati sebagai santapan pembangun jiwa.

Dengan berlatarbelakangkan kesibukan Kota Kairo dan ketekunan pencari ilmu digedung ilmu tersohor Al-Azhar,  membuat filem ini benar-benar bernafas. Penceritaan yang mengarah kepada pengenalan setiap watak juga dirasakan mengalir dan sarat dengan pelbagai macam emosi. Dari rindu, cinta, kasih dan sayang, sesekali muncul konflik yang mengundang keliru, sedih dan hampa sebelum muncul hikmah yang menambah indah karya ini. Walaupun ini bukan pertama kalinya novel Habiburrahman El-Shirazy diangkat ke layar perak kerana sebelum ini pernah lahir Ayat-Ayat Cinta ditangan sutradara Hanung Bramantyo, namun suasana dan persekitaran yang terwujud di dalam KBC lebih realistik dan nyaman untuk dikunyah.

Memang tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa filem ini bukan yang terbaik. Di sana-sini masih terlihat kelemahan-kelemahan yang perlu diperbaiki. Antaranya dari aspek lakonan itu sendiri. Melihat kepada  lakonan Kholidi Asadil Alam yang memeran watak Khairul Azzam, jelas beliau masih lemah dalam teknik pembentukan ekspresi wajah dan lontaran dialog. Namun itu tidak memberi efek besar terhadap KBC. Ini kerana kekuatan KBC itu sendiri terlarut di dalam mesej dakwah yang diterjemahkan dalam bentuk percintaan manusia lelaki dan perempuan mengikut kerangka Islam yang berpaksikan kepada Kitabullah dan Sunnah demi meraih redha Allah.

Sayang seribu kali sayang bila sesuatu yang baik tidak segera digali hikmahnya. Karyawan dan semua pencinta filem Malaysia perlu segera berhenti dari dengkur yang panjang dan bangkit melakukan perubahan demi masa depan dunia bioskop tempatan. Sudah tiba masanya untuk kita berkata tidak kepada karya-karya remeh yang hanya meraikan kebobrokan hidup yang tak berhujung dan tak berkiblat. Kita tidak memerlukan karya filem yang pecah panggung tapi muflis nilai dan jatidiri. Kita mendambakan karya-karya yang boleh dimanfaat dan dipertanggungjawabkan. Dan yang lebih peting karya-karya itu harus mendidik.

Karyawan filem Malaysia perlu mencontohi  keberanian karyawan Indonesia dalam mengiktiraf karya sastera dan belajar meletakkan sesuatu itu pada tempatnya. Oleh itu tidak keterlaluan jika dikatakan ikhtiar dan keberanian yang dicuba pada KBC ini boleh dianggap berhasil dan berbaloi. Mungkin tiada sesuatu yang luarbiasa boleh kita harapkan di sini, namun setiap usaha yang menganjur kepada amal maaruf dan berpesan pada kebenaran walaupun sekecil hama tetap harus dipuji. Mudah-mudahan dengan keberhasilan KBC ini dapat memberi sedar karyawan Islam dunia filem nusantara umumnya dan Malaysia khususnya betapa tidak sedikit dari khalayak penonton yang menghargai dan mencintai karya Islami jika digarap dengan kemas serta penuh hikmah.

Mungkin saja karya seperti ini tidak dapat dapat memenuhi selera semua. Dan jelas mustahil untuk melayan keinginan seluruh manusia. Seperti kata Ibnu Maqaffa “ kamu tidak boleh memberi kepuasan kepada semua orang, tetapi kamu boleh memberi kepuasan kepada golongan yang berakal, beradab dan terpilih”. Tidak rugi untuk kita mencuba dalam memberi sesuatu yang lebih segar dan mengajar sebagai alternatif kepada khalayak penonton dalam usaha kita membentuk satu generasi  yang mengenali, menghargai juga mencintai karya dari bangsanya sendiri .

Friday, March 12, 2010

World's Fastest Train Link


Last year China unveiled what it billed as the fastest rail link in the world -- a train connecting the modern cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan at an average speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour.

The super-high-speed train reduces the 1,069 kilometre journey to a three hour ride and cuts the previous journey time by more than seven and a half hours, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Work on the project began in 2005 as part of plans to expand a high-speed network aimed at eventually linking Guangzhou, a business hub in southern China near Hong Kong, with the capital Beijing, Xinhua added.

"The train can go 394.2 kilometres per hour, it's the fastest train in operation in the world," Zhang Shuguang, head of the transport bureau at the railways ministry, told Xinhua.

Test runs for the service began earlier in December and the link officially went into service when the first scheduled train left the eastern metropolis of Wuhan on Saturday.


By comparison, the average for high-speed trains in Japan was 243 kilometres per hour while in France it was 277 kilometres per hour, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the link, according to Xinhua.

Beijing has an ambitious rail development programme aimed at increasing the national network from the current 86,000 kilometres to 120,000 kilometres, making it the most extensive rail system outside the United States.

China unveiled its first high-speed line at the time of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 -- a service linking the capital with the port city of Tianjin.

In September, officials said they planned to build 42 high-speed lines by 2012 in a massive system overhaul as part of efforts to spur economic growth amid the global downturn.

The network uses technology developed in co-operation with foreign firms such as Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom.

© 2010 AFP