This year’s “Systemtage”, a voestalpine Signaling Sainerholz GmbH customer event, focused on the Stuttgart-Ulm project of Deutsche Bahn AG, consisting of Stuttgart 21 (S-21) and the New section Wendlingen-Ulm – as one of Europe’s most comprehensive rail concepts, it is one of Deutsche Bahn’s prestige projects. It is intended to make both long-distance and regional transport faster and more comfortable.
But the new construction will not only optimize rail traffic. More than 100 hectares of track and ballast wasteland will be transformed into new parks and space for charitable foundations. Furthermore, a new high-speed line will be built between Stuttgart and Ulm, finally integrating Stuttgart, the federal state and the entire region into the important European high-speed network.
Heike Campailla (Vice President – Customer Care Sales) and Jan Dost (Vice President Customer Management DLD/S) of voestalpine Signaling Sainerholz GmbH as well as Torsten Weinhold (Team Leader Track Stuttgart 21, DB Projekt Stuttgart-Ulm GmbH) invited customers to visit the project of the century on site at the beginning of September. The “Systemtage” of voestalpine Signaling Sainerholz GmbH took place for the seventh time, this year with 30 participating guests.
A successful two-day programme filled with presentations on turnout and signaling technology, project details and, of course, a visit to the construction site of Germany’s largest construction project.
Allround talent UNISTAR HR
For this mega project, voestalpine Signaling Sainerholz was awarded the contract for the UNISTAR HR turnout setting system for use in “confined spaces in tunnels” in 2018.
The order volume of this contract amounts to approx. EUR 4 million for development, testing, approval and delivery. Before UNISTAR HR was installed in the track system, numerous tests were carried out to prove compliance with the high requirements for safety, space, availability and traversability.
A special requirement for the development was, among other things, the ability to drive over the point machines with an axle load of up to 10 tonnes, which must be guaranteed for rescue vehicles, for example. After the first tests for operational stability / vibration in 2017 on DB lines between Hamburg and Berlin for the Stuttgart 21 project, adjustments could be made in March 2019 in the regional railway area southwest Ulm, and in July 2023 the “authorization to place on the market and use the switch setting and locking systems with several actuating levels for BD designs for S-21” (acc. §27 EIGV) was granted.
The UNISTAR HR is characterised by an integrated locking unit, protection class IP 67 with reduced maintenance requirements. The low life cycle costs and quick and easy installation are impressive. The drive was developed for mixed traffic, heavy-duty and metro applications, is SIL 4 certified and the hydraulic system controls up to four setting points.