
Tunnel exercises –
Well prepared for any incidents
Where is the nearest breakdown bay? Where is the fire-fighting water connection? What escape routes are there? If there is an incident, the fact that the emergency organisations are perfectly coordinated and know the tunnel very well can save lives. For this reason regular exercises are carried out in all ASFINAG tunnels longer than 500 metres.
There are the so-called major exercises (Großübungen), which must be carried out every four years in accordance with the road tunnel safety act (Straßentunnel-Sicherheitsgesetz, STSG § 6), and "routine exercises", such as before commissioning new tunnel tubes or repairing existing ones.
The exercises aim to optimise cooperation in an emergency between all emergency teams and those responsible at ASFINAG, for the safety of all road users.
Each exercise tests, among other things:
- Rescue, retrieval
- Cooperation/communication with the emergency teams when handling an incident
- What does the alarm chain look like
- Measuring the alert and response times
- Implementing the alarm and deployment plan