To increase the visibility and impact of WTC2024 papers, the Scientific Committee has decided to publish the WTC2024 proceedings in open access via CRC Press. The proceedings will be submitted for citation purposes to main indexing services such as Clarivate Analytics (formerly ISI) Web of Science, EI, Scopus, Compendex. This decision aligns with our commitment to disseminate knowledge widely and foster accessibility within the tunnelling community.

In light of this, we kindly request authors’ cooperation and agreement. The “Consent to Publish for Contributors to Open Access Books” will be attached in the acceptance notification email which will be sent to the submitter in Dec. 2023 and Jan. 2024 depending on the review progress. FYI, in order to publish the paper in the proceedings, at least one author of the paper is required to register for WTC2024.

If we do not receive the signed Consent or request for paper withdrawal before Jan. 20, 2024, we will assume that you agree to publish your paper in Open Access through CRC Press. We understand the importance of such decisions and are here to address any concerns or queries you may have. Please feel free to contact us (wtc2024@tunnelcenter.cn).

Thank you for your understanding and collaboration in making WTC2024 a platform for the exchange of cutting-edge research in the tunnelling industry.