[Germany]North-South Mainline near Rastatt blocked...

A mishap during tunneling works has blocked the Mainline south of Rastatt for an (until now) undefined duration.
Chaos is here.
Here are some pics: https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren ... sg-8269239" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And here it is: https://www.google.de/maps/@48.8449773, ... a=!3m1!1e3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
As some of the potential detours are closed for routine maintenance, it will be a nightmare to get trains running in schedule again.
Latest news say, it may take at least one week to solve the problem...

It looks like a sinkhole or a culvert collapsed.

They were boring a tunnel underneath. Due to heavy water flux there was a landslide inside the tunnel construction site, which collapsed the surface above.

The whole section where the tunnel crosses the existing line was under permanent surveillance using a laser grid for exactly that kind of thing, hence preventing any accidents.

Update:
Officials say, that the "tunnel" will be filled with concrete and the tunnel boring machine will be abandoned.
There were more slides in the last hours, so waiting for an "idea" is not an option.
When the conrete-plug is finished, the railroadbed will be renewed, temporary.
This sounds weird, but this is much cheaper than an undefined lockup.
The traffic is already in chaos, as there are no suitable detours possible.

Hoppla!! Wir haben einen großen Fehler gemacht!
Deutsches Ingenieurwesen ist nicht das, was es früher war !!

CarterB wrote:Hoppla!! Wir haben einen großen Fehler gemacht!
Deutsches Ingenieurwesen ist nicht das, was es früher war !!

Hehe, when we Germans make mistakes, they're perfect in any way.

There were some rumours that they were using an experimental stabilization method for the construction, to be exact pumping cooling agents through pipes in the tunnel walls leading to the surrounding ground being iced solid.

Any truth to that?

kato wrote:There were some rumours that they were using an experimental stabilization method for the construction, to be exact pumping cooling agents through pipes in the tunnel walls leading to the surrounding ground being iced solid.

Any truth to that?

Yes. But that method doesn't seem to be the cause aof the failuer, which is still under examination.
Btw: Trains are rolling, with several detours, sometimes hauled by big "Russian Diesels" (BR 232).
I don't have an overview over the main detours (does anybody have??), but there are some secondary lines
that see much more traffic at the moment.

For freight the main detour is via Neckar-Alb-Bahn (Tübingen - Horb - Singen - Schaffhausen), which also leads to most passenger trains on this route being cancelled now (!). The 232s are used to cross the Alb on this route.

Another detour supposedly uses French railroad lines through Alsace, but this isn't as fleshed out yet.

For background for others - the blocked route through Rastatt is used by around 350 trains per day, including:

• about 170 freight trains. About 85% of these freight trains are on international routes towards Switzerland.
• about 100 regional trains, mostly of the S7/S71 S-Bahn lines from Achern to Karlsruhe (70 per day) and RE lines (30 per day).
• about 40 long-distance trains that regularly stop at Baden-Baden south of the accident site (lines ICE 20, IC/EC 30, TGV 84).
• about 40 other long-distance trains (lines ICE 12, ICE 43, ICE/TGV 82, ICE/TGV 83, EN470).

Here are some pictures of the detoured trains.
Nothing is normal these days, so many diesel-hauled heavy electric freight trains, and even a dieselized ICE.
Meanwhile, the trainspotters are legions here: https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren ... 65,8277965" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm sure these weeks -and I'm sure it will be for weeks- have already taken their place in Germanys railroad history.

Repair works (and closure) extended till October 7th.

They're planning to remove tracks, bedding and catenary in a 150m long section and then cast a 1m thick concrete plate along this section as sort of a bridge across the area being tunneled through. Which means they won't finish by October since they're probably counting on ideal weather for those 4,400 tons of concrete to dry.

The tunnel boring machine stuck underneath is being given up and currently being filled with concrete along with the tunnel under the affected area - about 40m of it had collapsed. Four houses next to the collapse have also been evacuated.

Update:
The tunnel is already filled with concrete.
Currently a concrete cover over the whole thing is being made, and after setting the tracks will be relaid.
Reopening is scheduled for the beginning of October (2017).
We'll wait and we'll see... hopefully.

Hey together,

According to the DB, the line will be open again from monday morning instead of, announced so far 7 october. Passengers on the local AVG-services have to wait until Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the economy has suffered a lot - the network of European railways (NEE) estimates a damage of more than 100 million Euro caused by the delays, cancellations, detours and so on. In Switzerland already a month ago the minister for traffic Doris Leuthard contacted the german minister Dobrindt to accelerate the construction (repairing) work, as well as the NEE did this to demand financial support. I think, from Dobrindt there has been not any statement to this topic at all.

The general opinion (as far as I can see this in news and hear it from other people) is, that the DB generated her own problem here by unsing a more or less experimental method for tunnel construction and simultaneously not providing some fallback alternative, e.g. no qualified train drivers for the french route, no locomotives for this route, the possible detour line via Horb and Singen was closed for construction work.

For the swiss traffic policy the closure has some other negative consequences because some freight providers maybe now rethink their own pro-rail policy. But many companies are dependant of the freight rail, which means that they will suffer again, every time, when Rastatt repeats.


Some links (all three in German):
DB information: https://www.bahn.de/p/view/home/info/so ... tatt.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Railway companies demand for millions of euros (SWR): https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/bw/existe ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Doris Leuthard intervenes with Alexander Dobrindt (NZZ): https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/aktuelle-the ... ld.1312923" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think, from Dobrindt there has been not any statement to this topic at all.

Right. As the incident wasn't a road-traffic incident, Mr. D wasn't interested at all. Or even not responsible. Or whatever... well.
As far as I can remember, the "Ministry for traffic" was always a sidetrack to park otherwise unreliable political dumbasses where they can do whatever they want, without bothering anyone.