Alpine railways Pedestrian subway
Cross-section of Zurich main station showing the existing underground Museumstrasse platforms on the left and the new Löwenstrasse platforms on the right.
for rescue teams and is designed for use by ambulances or light vehicles. A positive pressure system in the escape and rescue tunnel will ensure that smoke cannot penetrate the tunnel in the event of a fire. Two airlocks, each with two airlock doors, are designed to withstand a pressure of 50Pa. Track crossings are installed at portals and cross passages to allow passengers to cross the tracks to reach the escape and rescue tunnel. The overhead electrification will be installed next summer. To ensure the tunnel profile is kept as small as possible, SBB has opted for overhead conductor rails instead of conventional contact wires.
All systems for operating Weinberg tunnel, such as ventilation, power supply, and door contacts, will be monitored and controlled from Zurich main station signalbox, but from 2016, control will be transferred to the eastern control centre at Zurich Airport station.
Preparatory work for tracklaying began in July. The DML will be equipped with slab track with rails laid on monobloc sleepers concreted into the track bed. Low-vibration-track (LVT) sleepers will be used to minimise the ground transmission of train vibrations. Calculations during the design phase showed that additional measures would be necessary to protect the surrounding residential areas adequately against vibrations, so SBB is installing a 550m section of mass-spring system (MSS) in the area of the south portal, while 515m lengths are planned at the north portal and near the radio studios (see Table 1). This is followed by pouring a 21cm layer of concrete.
When trains pass over the spring system, it compresses by up to 15mm and prevents the transmission of vibrations. Well-designed transition sections ensure that passengers are unaware of the train dropping in level. A total of 16 switches will be installed
Table 1: Mass-spring system (MSS) parameters MSS type Mat depth
In-situ concrete slab Light
Medium Heavy
3cm 44cm 10cm Fabric mats 3cm 74cm Fabric mats
12cm precast slab as lost formwork Point supports 44cm concrete slab
Roof-mounted conductor rail Loading gauge Technical room Getzner 44cm x 44cm Comments
and concreted into the slab track, 12 of which will be situated in Löwenstrasse station. A very tight curve in Weinberg tunnel has to be constructed on a very high crossfall because of the 150mm cant on the rails. This means that the flowing concrete has to be very stiff to ensure the superelevation stays within the required tolerances. On the other hand, the concrete must have good flowing properties to grout under the sleepers and keep air bubble formation and voids to a minimum. As these two requirements conflict, solutions had to be found. The strict requirements for accuracy and surface quality are achieved using a saw tooth technique, already employed on other Swiss projects. This creates “grooves” for later track installation and placing concrete under and around the sleepers. Flowing concrete can be used for this task to ensure the highest precision for the crossfall. The other solution involves using fibre-reinforced concrete on the approaches to the portals for greater strength and weather resistance. Other challenges in the project include coordination of the logistics for the supply of materials to workers involved in the installation works; coordination of bringing the works into use; testing of individual components, technical equipment rooms and the tunnel to enable SBB to bring the whole project into operation, including test running, by January 2014. The first scheduled trains are due to
start running through Löwenstrasse station and Weinberg tunnel to Oerlikon in June 2014, while the two viaducts in Altstetten will open to traffic in December 2015, bringing much-needed relief to Zurich’s congested rail network. IRJ
Weinberg tunnel cross-section Escape and rescue tunnel
Technical room
Escape walkway with
emergency lighting
Fire extinguishing pipe Mass suspension system Drainage 22 LVT slab track IRJ October 2012 Cross passage Drainage Cable
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