Deutsche Bahn (DB) awarded four contracts to rehabilitate and modernise the 70 km Riedbahn corridor between Frankfurt am Main and Mannheim, as part of the high-performance network programme.
Leonhard Weiss GmbH & Co. KG, Spitzke SE, Swietelsky Baugesellschaft mbH and Siemens Mobility GmbH, for the control and safety technology, are the four companies who won the contracts following a Europe-wide tender process.
In order to be able to cope with the enormous construction workload during the five-month closure of the heavily used Riedbahn corridor, DB divided the work into two lots.The first covers the section between Frankfurt/Main and Biblis, and the second is the section between Biblis and Mannheim.
With the general renovation of the Riedbahn, DB is combining numerous works on the 70-kilometer-long route. This includes the renewal of around 120 km of tracks, 150 switches, 140 km of overhead lines as well as complete control and safety technology. DB is also modernising all 20 stations along the route. The stations will receive modern platform roofs, weather shelters, new wayfinding systems and ramps for barrier-free access.
“The entire infrastructure will be completely renewed in a record time of just five months,” DB says.Once the work is completed, travellers will benefit from more punctual trains and more attractive stations.In order to better protect residents from noise, the DB is also building more than 15 km of noise barriers.
DB has significantly increased the scope of the project for the general renovation of the Riedbahn and thus also updated the cost planning. The overall calculation now also includes the conversion of the route to electronic interlocking technology, which began in February 2022. In addition, the costs for measures at the train stations and for efficient replacement transport are also fully taken into account. Due to the general and dynamic market price development, DB has also planned a risk buffer. The total costs for all measures amount to around EUR 1.3 billion, of which EUR 1.1 billion are planned to be secured from the federal budget.
The upgrade of Riedbahn is directly contibuting to the goals of the DB’s Strong Rail strategy. With this, DB is focusing on the federal government’s transport decarbonisation and climate policy goals. This includes doubling the volume of passenger transport and increasing the market share in rail freight transport. This requires an efficient and connected infrastructure that can handle more traffic.
In order to be able to better manage the construction workload and to avoid a closure of the Riedbahn during the European Football Championship (Jun 14– Jul 14 2024), DB intends to implement preparatory works in January 2024, which means the line will be closed from 1st to 22nd of January 2024.
This “dress rehearsal” for the general renovation also enables the DB to test all processes and further optimise concepts, for example for replacement traffic, with a view to the summer,” DB says.
Once the upgrade work for Riedbahn corridor is completed, passengers will see more punctual trains and fewer disruptions, while delivering more options for passenger and freight transport services. The costs of the general renovation are expected to amount to around EUR 500 million and the works would be completed in December 2024.
By bundling various sub-projects within the general renovation and the planned risk buffer, the updated cost planning is within the scope of the additional funding requirement of EUR 45 billion by 2027 reported to the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV). The plan to upgrade and modernise German rail network covers 9,000 km of heavily used lines, identified as priority routes. Germany will upgrade and improve 40 rail routes with a total length of 4,000 km by 2030, in addition to other projects covering the modernisation of other lines, of stations as well as the deployment of new technology as part of rail digitalisation programme.
Share on:
