European Railroad Discussion > Massive Rail Traffic Disruption Between Germany and Switzerland

Traffic chaos in International Rail Traffic between Germany and Switzerland. The route between Stuttgart and Singen is closed for scheduled upgrading, similarly the route between St. Margarethen and Bregenz is closed. The big problem was caused by a contractor boring a tunnel under the tracks at Rästatt, just south of Karlsruhe, followed by two days of rain which caused the tunnel to collapse closing the two main track mainline.

Photo here; http://www.badische-zeitung.de/suedwest-1/massive-beeintraechtigungen-auf-der-rheintalstrecke-zwischen-karlsruhe-und-freiburg--140545178.html

The only detour routes available are via Saarbrücken - Strasbourg or the non-electrified route via Ulm - Friedrichshafen.

The reported solution will be to fill the tunnel with concrete, which obviously is going to take some time, Passengers are being bussed. So far only one freight train has taken the French detour.

More details here in English; http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/main-line/rastatt-tunnel-landslip-closes-karlsruhe-basle-main-line.html?channel=524



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/17 20:44 by SOO6617.

Wow, that's a pretty big problem!

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

200 trains a day take the route which is equipped with CIR-ELKE to handle that much traffic.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/17 00:03 by SOO6617.

What is "CIR-ELKE"?

Posted from iPhone

"200 freights a day". The Conventional Wisdom is that European freight rail traffic has all but vanished. Not so, eh??

Since they are going to fill the tunnel with cement, I am curious as to what they plan to do to replace that tunnel routing?

JGFuller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "200 freights a day". The Conventional Wisdom is
> that European freight rail traffic has all but
> vanished. Not so, eh??

Nope. It's generally used as part of an excuse for the US not having better passenger service than it does: can't be done, no freight trains in Europe, there are a few but they run at night, European railroads were designed for passenger trains, etc., etc., etc.

Here is a sample of traffic at a random station in Germany: double track current of traffic ABS with sidings at stations.


TAW

---

HA! More Frts than Psgrs!

But "of course" the Frts are shorter than 'here'. So there, see!

They have to be shorter. to navigate among all the Psgrs.

JGFuller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HA! More Frts than Psgrs!
>
> But "of course" the Frts are shorter than 'here'.
> So there, see!
>
> They have to be shorter. to navigate among all the
> Psgrs.

Actually, they have to be shorter to fit in sidings and yard tracks (we don't worry about that)...and to accommodate the coupling method and the signal system that is designed for uniform braking distance among trains. All of this is because
1. The railroads in Europe are designed for open interchange of equipment that is an older standard than ours.
2. Changing the standard includes making changes among all of the involved countries involves folks who in the past have had trouble agreeing on national boundaries, currency, and such. Railroad equipment is way down the list.

TAW

Alexmarissa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is "CIR-ELKE"?

CIR-ELKE stands for "Computer Integrated Railroad - Erhöhung der Leistungsfähigkeit im Kernnetz der Eisenbahn"(Computer Integrated Railroading - Increase Capacity in the Core Railway Network).
It is a more sophisticated version of the German LZB Cab Signalling. It is designed to allow mixed operation of High-speed passenger trains, and Regional Passenger trains with slower Intermodal and
Manifest freight trains. The Karlsruhe to Basel Bad line features the initial CIR-ELKE I version which allows train speeds as high as 250kph. Signal Blocks are 300 meters in length(985ft). Signal Indications are the allowed
speed of the train based on its braking capability.

An article on the Railway Gazette site today says, "Rail freight operators are working to implement diversionary routes for north-south intermodal traffic, after German infrastructure manager DB Netze confirmed that the key Karlsruhe – Basel section of Rhine-Alpine Rail Freight Corridor 1 would remain closed for an estimated six weeks following a tunnel collapse at Rastatt on August 12."

More at http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/freight-operators-reschedule-to-avoid-rastatt-tunnel-collapse.html.

Tom

Evidently no one wsa hurt when the tunnel collapsed.
What a relief!

The article linked stated that they plan to fill the
remaining area with concrete to stabilize the tunnel.
However -- if they expect that concrete to cure properly,
they will need to find some way to cool that cement as it
cures, as cement gets quite hot while curing, and it will
take cement that is that thick a very long time to cure.

No, I am not any kind of expert -- I just know some things.
What the article did not say was how they plan to cool all
that concrete so it can cure properly, or how long it will
take -- best case -- to cure all that concrete and then bore
a new tunnel, and how they plan to prevent any future collapses.

To make the ground firm enough to use the TBM they froze the surrounding soil to between -8° to -14°F.

The Karlsrühe to Basel route reopens Monday morning October 2, 2017. As this is the most important freight corridor in Europe(especially for Intermodal), various Logistics and Intermodal companies are seeking major damage payments. Hupac is claiming that the closure will cost it 25% of its expected annual revenue for 2017.