engineering

Schuman-Josaphat tunnel

Schuman-Josaphat tunnel is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Schuman-Josaphat tunnel rather than just read about it. In short: The Schuman-Josaphat tunnel (French: Tunnel Schuman-Josaphat; Dutch: Schuman-Josafattunnel) is a 1,250-metre-long (4,100 ft) double track rail tunnel in Brussels, Belgium, which entered into service on 4 April 2016. It links line 161 (Brussels-Namur) just after Meiser station and line 26 (Halle-Vilvoorde) at the Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark tunnel just before Schuman station.

Key takeaways

Schuman-Josaphat tunnel belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Schuman-Josaphat tunnel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Schuman-Josaphat tunnel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Schuman-Josaphat tunnel (French: Tunnel Schuman-Josaphat; Dutch: Schuman-Josafattunnel) is a 1,250-metre-long (4,100 ft) double track rail tunnel in Brussels, Belgium, which entered into service on 4 April 2016. It links line 161 (Brussels-Namur) just after Meiser station and line 26 (Halle-Vilvoorde) at the Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark tunnel just before Schuman station. The line is numbered L161A. A key component of the Brussels Regional Express Network (RER/GEN) project, the tunnel passes beneath the Avenue Plasky/Plaskylaan, the Place de Jamblinne de Meux/Jamblinne de Meuxplein and the Cortenbergh/Kortenberg road tunnel. The position of the tunnel in the Brussels rail network is shown in the simplified map on the right. Benefits of the project include reducing the journey time from the European Quarter (Brussels-Schuman and Brussels-Luxembourg railway stations) to the airport from half an hour to less than 15 minutes by opening a direct route and avoid having to change at Brussels-North railway station, as well as opening a parallel route through Brussels to take pressure off the saturated North–South connection

Project details

The project began in June 2008 and was planned to take 1,645 days to complete. Construction is taking place in two phases. Firstly, the shell was dug out, which finished in late 2011. Secondly, equipping the tunnel with tracks, etc. was scheduled to last from late 2010 to late 2013. In fact, track laying began in 2014. The tunnel was expected to be officially opened on 12 December 2015, but the opening was postponed until 9 April 2016 because the mandatory safety test could not be held due to the Brussels lockdown. The opening date was designed in the framework of the Brussels RER 2015 plan, which had to be modified until the tunnel could be put into service. The safety test was eventually held on 25 February 2016, and the tunnel opened on 4 April. The cost of the tunnel is estimated at €210 million, funded through Beliris, a joint venture between the Belgian Federal State and the Brussels Region. The project is also managed by Infrabel. Unusual construction techniques were used to limit disturbance to local residents and protect the appearance of Brussels. It was decided to carry out the work without opening the tunnel from the surface so the digging is being done without a tunnel boring machine, but rather by hand or using small excavators. The Cortenbergh road tunnel was built with extra deep foundations to accommodate a future rail tunnel beneath it. Elsewhere, the tunnel passes close beneath the cellars of buildings, and in any case delivering a TBM in central Brussels would have created great disruption. Similar techniques were used during the construction of the underground junction passing under Antwerpen-Centraal railway station.

References

External links rail-be.net: amateur photos of Belgian railways, L161 section including progress photos of the tunnel

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Schuman-Josaphat tunnel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Schuman-Josaphat tunnel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Schuman-Josaphat tunnel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Schuman-Josaphat tunnel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Schuman-Josaphat tunnel

In research: Schuman-Josaphat tunnel appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Schuman-Josaphat tunnel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Schuman-Josaphat tunnel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 2016, City of Brussels, Rail transport in Brussels, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Schuman-Josaphat tunnel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Schuman-Josaphat tunnel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Schuman-Josaphat tunnel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Schuman-Josaphat tunnel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Schuman-Josaphat tunnel in simple terms?

Why does Schuman-Josaphat tunnel matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Schuman-Josaphat tunnel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Schuman-Josaphat tunnel.