Full steam ahead for both man and machine: Railway construction in Frankfurt Süd-Louisa

The work on the points

The first week of August was dominated by the renewal of the points: Three crews – also working in shifts over 24 hours – pre-assembled a total of five 190 ‘single points’ and one 500 ’single point’, removed the old points and installed the new ones.

The tunnel

The works was concluded with a crowning achievement: The renewal of the S-Bahn (suburban railway) track between Frankfurt South and Frankfurt Louisa. This route included a 100-metre-long tunnel in which a ventilation system was installed especially for this project!

The work in the tunnel constituted a major challenge. Water was sprayed on to the old and new ballast during its removal and installation, all the work was carried out ahead of the end of the active line with material-conveying silo carriages and all the machines used had to be fitted with particulate-filter systems before they were allowed to operate in the tunnel.

Two kilometres of track were renewed on these sections with the help track bays that were each six metres in length. The cramped conditions made the deployment of a tracked loader necessary.

All the work was carried out in 24-hour shifts from 22 July 2023 to 15 September 2023. Three crews alternated in eight-hour shifts over the course of one month. A fourth crew was sometimes deployed during the early shift.  
 
The remaining work – five double slip switches and two single switch points – is to be carried out when services are shut down for a period of two weeks at the beginning of March 2024. The key data at a glance: