GERMAN Rail (DB) has completed civil works on the new 4270m twin-bore Rastatt Tunnel, a major component of the project to widen to four tracks the section of the key Rhine Valley main line between Karlsruhe and Basle.
Work to build the new tunnel in southwestern Germany using two tunnel boring machines (TBM) operating simultaneously was officially launched in May 2016, but came to halt on August 12 2017 when part of the eastern bore collapsed. This also severed the existing main line on the surface, causing major disruption to this key European north-south freight corridor.
The line reopened on October 2 2017 after a 275m-long concrete slab was laid to support the railway on top of the area that had collapsed. A 160m section of the collapsed tunnel was filled with concrete entombing the TBM, with the remaining part of the eastern bore completed as a cut and cover tunnel with a trench 17m deep.
DB says that work to remove the concrete and dismantle the 90m-long TBM was completed according to plan. The TBM weighing 2000 tonnes was dismantled into sections weighing up to 70 tonnes each, enabling the excavation pit to be further excavated down to the level of the new tunnel floor. Around 52,000m3 of earth were excavated.
Following the completion of tunnelling, final railway systems work is now in progress. This includes the installation of the last section of the slab track, as well as overhead electrification equipment, signalling, lighting, and communications systems.
This will be followed by technical inspection of structural and operational systems, conducting safety exercises with the emergency services, and test runs through the new tunnel in the coming months. DB says that the project team is working towards ensuring that the first trains can run through the Rastatt Tunnel as planned by the end of 2026.
For detailed data on European rail infrastructure projects, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
