Riedbahn Overhaul 100 Days In: Most of the Track Construction Work Completed
The Riedbahn renovation is the start of a new concept of rapid renovations that will see a total of 1,500km of track being fully renovated by 2027. The goal of this work is for Deutsche Bahn to become more punctual, reliable and profitable again.
Unlike previous infrastructure improvement projects, the decision made here was to fully close the line, rather than to overhaul it piecemeal. Transport Minister Volker Wissing said during the opening ceremony at InnoTrans 2024 that by closing the line fully to do the refurbishments, the work would take just five months. Had it been done with the line remaining open to rail traffic, the whole process would have taken eight years.
Now the refurbishment project has been under way for the first 100 days.
During this time, most of the track construction work has been completed and the installation of the new control and safety technology has been started.
Engineers are in the process of connecting the new electronic signal boxes, from where points and signals can be controlled by computer from a remote operating centre.
The line is scheduled to open again on 15 December.
The Riedbahn renovation is the start of a new concept of rapid renovations that will see a total of 1,500km of track being fully renovated by 2027. The goal of this work is for Deutsche Bahn to become more punctual, reliable and profitable again.
“The phase of the large machines on the Riedbahn is coming to an end as planned – an important milestone. Now the decisive final third of the general renovation begins. The schedule is demanding, because there is no blueprint for a project of this size. One thing is clear: the new signal box technology with modern workstations for our employees will ensure that trains on this heavily used route can run more reliably and punctually in the future. The general renovation of the Riedbahn is therefore an important step on the way to the sustainable stabilisation of operations and thus also to the structural restructuring of our group.”
Deutsche Bahn is renewing the entire control and safety technology on the Riedbahn in collaboration with Siemens Mobility.
“The Riedbahn's relay interlockings, which are around 50 years old, are being replaced by our modern interlocking and train protection technology. All of the signalling technology and switch drives along the 70-kilometre route are being replaced. A total of eight interlockings with over 600 signals, around 330 switch drives, 880 digital counting points and three ETCS control centres with over 3,500 beacons are being equipped. The interlockings and a large proportion of the signals and switch drives have been installed, and the interlocking software is in the approval phase. In the coming weeks, the focus will be on installing the remaining track-side components and then commissioning the entire system.”
In order for the individual components to be connected to the new electronic interlockings, more than a million kilometres of cable have been laid over the past few months.
Assembly teams from Siemens are in the process of setting up the remaining signals and connecting all components such as axle counters, magnets and switch drives, to the new electronic interlockings. After that, the entire system will undergo testing.
Once operational, large regional areas can then be monitored and controlled from the modern control centres in Walldorf, Gernsheim and Mannheim-Waldhof.
The Riedbahn is also being equipped with ETCS – the European train control system. As part of this work, Siemens and DB will install thousands of beacons along the route that will store operational information and transmit it to the trains. Satellite technology will be used to determine the exact assembly locations and speed up the equipment installation.
The commissioning of the ETCS will take place in stages, starting with the route section from Mannheim-Waldhof to Biblis. All other sections will follow in Q2 of 2025.
After ETCS has been fully commissioned, top speeds of up to 200km/h will be possible on the line, which creates an additional time buffer in the timetable.
The experience from the Riedbahn overhaul will feed into the planning of further full overhauls of the most heavily used rail network. Deutsche Bahn will start the combined renovation and modernisation of the Hamburg-Berlin and Emmerich-Oberhausen routes in 2025. The purpose of overhauling these routes is to make the most important direct connection between cities and an important main route for European freight transport more efficient and less prone to disruption.
