Neumarkt, Germany – An important milestone has
been reached for attainment by GETRAC® A3 of the ‘standard-design’
(Regelbauart) classification for tunnel upgrading on the Deutsche Bahn
network: RAIL.ONE Group has won contracts for delivery of ballastless
track for the new Schlüchterner Tunnel tube in Germany, as well as
for upgrading of the existing tunnel tube at the same location in Sinntal-Sannerz,
in eastern Hesse, Germany. Now – after similar contracts for
the Kehretunnel (2001), the Heiligenberg Tunnel (2001 – 2002), the
Esslingerberg Tunnel (2004) and the Brandleite Tunnel (2005) – the
Schlüchterner Tunnel marks the fifth tunnel in succession to be equipped
with the GETRAC A3 system.
RAIL.ONE will produce over 14,000 wide
concrete sleepers for the Schlüchterner project. In addition, the Neumarkt
concrete-sleeper plant will for the first time also manufacture the
anchor blocks required for such a project. As a result, RAIL.ONE will deliver
all components for the GETRAC A3 ballastless system, on a one-stop
basis, thereby guaranteeing maximum quality and operational
safety and reliability.
The Schlüchterner Tunnel
The Schlüchterner railway tunnel, until now double-track in a single tube, is
on the line between Hanau and Fulda. It was opened in 1914 and is
3,576m long; the second-longest tunnel in the old network of
Deutsche Bahn. With an average of approximately 270 trains per day,
the line is one of the busiest train routes in Germany, with important
connections from Frankfurt am Main to Hamburg and Berlin. As a result
of the condition of the structural components of the tunnel, and owing to
new tunnel regulations, the decision was made to comprehensively upgrade
the tunnel and to build a second tunnel tube.
Beginning in mid-2009, the plan is for train traffic to be routed initially
on a dual-track basis through the new tunnel tube, while the old tube is
being restored and adapted to the new safety stipulations. When work is
completed, traffic will be routed on single tracks through each of the
tubes, with the rest of the tunnel area to be used for rescue access. The
entire project is scheduled for completion in 2013.
The GETRAC A3 ballastless track system
The GETRAC A3 is a ballastless track system with direct support of
wide concrete sleepers on a multi-layer asphalt course. Special anchor
blocks fix the concrete sleepers to the supporting layer below, to provide
a high degree of positional security of the track panel. The system is
characterised by long-lasting stability of track position, which guarantees
high quality, safety and availability over the long term. The wide
sleepers, inherently part of the system, additionally reduce track structural
height and the loads applied to the track substructure.