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In December 201 0 Andrew Stephenson of BAA, Enrique Blanco of Ferrovial and Arthur Darby of Mott MacDonald gave a presentation at the British Tunnelling Society on the Baggage Tunnel design and construction at London's Heathrow Airport
The baggage tunnel forms a vital link in Heathrow Airport's underground integrated transfer baggage system - a 2.1km tunnel running between Terminals Five, Three and One. The scale of the transfer baggage system is unusual and when completed it will be the world's largest.
Andrew Stephenson of airport operator BAA explains that, with five terminals, a large amount of baggage is transported by vehicle but the vision is that this will be improved and transported underground and out of sight. The value of the whole project is GBP 26OM (USD 420.26M) with the tunnel element and fit out accounting for GBP 73M (USD 1 18M) of this. The tunnel is 2.1km long with a 5.1m internal diameter and links Terminal Five with Terminal One. It contains an automated transfer baggage system with a twin track. The transfer of the baggage will take place in a dedicated transfer facility in the basement of terminal T5C with a second baggage transfer building at Terminal Three.
The vital benefits are that the manual handling of the baggage using vans will be put to an end, reducing the number of bags handled by people by three million a year. There will also be less congestion on the airport's roads and reduced emissions as well as it being cheaper and more reliable and predictable in operation. The improvement in the baggage handling system will help Heathrow to maintain its position as one of the world's leading airports.
At present 44 bags out of a 1 ,000 are not reunited with the passenger on their transfer flight. This project will reduce this to near zero. Baggage will be moved around faster so the connection time will be shorter. The reliability will also allow the airlines to be more confident in their scheduling particularly where passenger transfers are involved.
Lost baggage
The baggage system chosen was a destination coded vehicle (DCV) System which comprises one cart per bag, with the only moving parts being the four wheels on aluminium tracks. Linear motors in...