Transportation project – German Unity No. 8

The transportation project German Unity No. 8 is the last remaining VDE (Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit) project and with its construction sections 8.1 and 8.2 it is the biggest construction project these days. The big goal 2017: Berlin – Munich in 4 hours!

In the near future the new track can be used by high speed trains – with a speed of up to 300 km/h. People will be transported from Berlin to Munich in record time. Using the train will become a real alternative to cars and planes.

In 2017 most parts of the longest construction site in Germany within the transportation project German Unity No. 8 (Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit - VDE 8) will be completed and the reconstructed and upgraded two-track line Nuremberg – Erfurt – Leipzig/Halle will be put in operation. The ten billion project had been agreed by the German Federal Government in 1991 to improve the transportation between East and West as well as North and South Germany. At the same time it is a gap closure in the German rapid transit railway. This route will also be used for cargo trains. The route offers several possibilities for the implementation of state-of-the-art transportation concepts.

The beginning of a new area of railway

The reconstructed and upgraded route Nuremberg – Erfurt (VDE 8.1) leads through the Thuringian Forest which minimized the travel time between the big cities in the south and the east extremely – up to one hour and 40 minutes less. The newly constructed route Erfurt – Leipzig/Halle (VDE 8.2) speeds up the east-west-traffic. This will e.g. minimize the travel time from Dresden to Frankfurt by about half an hour. The travel time between Leipzig/Halle and Berlin has already been reduced to about half an hour only since the initial operation of the upgraded line (VDE 8.3) in 2006.

The TÜV SÜD technical equipment experts support the Federal Office for Railways (Eisenbahnbundesamt EBA) since several years in regards to the construction supervision process of the excavation 8.1 and 8.3. From September 2012 we also supported with the upgrade routes.

Beside others eight TÜV SÜD assessors are involved in plan verification of signalling installations (electric switch tower of ElS, ElL and ElBas well as relais switchesSpDr S and SpDr L), railroad control systems (ETCS, LZB, PZB), electrical engineering with transformer stations and safety lightening in tunnels.

Four assessors do acceptance tests for electrical engineering (50 HZ), hazard alert systems, protected data transmission systems. Planning of signalling and safety devices is done by SIGNON Deutschland GmbH who supports with their experience and know-how during acceptance / testing of ETCS components. To support the design review ETCS PT2 the division Signalling Metro (SIM) developed a toll which is actually in the testing phase.

As of today test runs are conducted in area 8.2 which should be closed with the initial operation within this year.