Rhine-Alpine Corridor of the railway – nail-biter with the Rastatt Tunnel of the Rhine Valley Railway continues – News

Five years after the “Rastatt collapse” there are further delays. Real alternative routes are not available either.

The Rastatt Tunnel in the state of Baden-Württemberg should have been completed this year. But on August 17, 2017, the tracks above the tunnel construction site dropped by half a meter. As a result of the closure, freight traffic came to a standstill for months. Five years later, construction is still going on.

Michail Stahlhut, then managing director at SBB Cargo and now head of Hupac based in Chiasso, remembers the dramatic consequences. «200 freight trains per day, each with a capacity of 40 trucks, stood still. And this on the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, the main artery to northern Italy through the Gotthard and Lötschberg base tunnels. If the route is closed in front of these tunnels, the supply of oxygen is no longer given. »

claims pending

This transit axis was interrupted for more than a month. Alternative routes were also blocked by construction work or were generally not passable. The economic damage was enormous. Various railway companies – including SBB Cargo and BLS – sued for damages. The proceedings are still pending, they say.

Deutsche Bahn Netze, which is responsible for the construction work, confirms on request: Evidence and arbitration proceedings are still ongoing. The demands are therefore on hold for the time being.

What happened in five years?

Shortly after the closure, those responsible for construction promised improvements at various international conferences. “Just like in a good organism, you have to build bypasses. That was what we expected after Rastatt,” says Stahlhut.

A comprehensive diversion concept was drawn up for the Rhine-Alps corridor, which is considered a model corridor for the measures.

DB Netze is fighting back: After Rastatt, a manual was written that ensures better coordination and communication across national borders in the event of internationally relevant disruptions, she tells SRF: For the Rhine-Alps corridor, which is considered a model corridor for the measures , a comprehensive diversion concept was drawn up accordingly.

learned nothing?

Hupac boss Stahlhut puts a question mark there. Because even five years after Rastatt, the closures of railway lines in the north were hardly coordinated: there were recommendations for action, and the network operators in Switzerland, France and Germany had considered how bypasses could be organized.

So it’s a bit surprising that we derived so little from that time.

But now there are smaller construction sites on the Rhine-Alpine Corridor and at the same time the Gäubahn between Stuttgart and Singen is closed. “So it’s a bit surprising that we derived so little from that time,” criticizes Stahlhut. A criticism shared by BLS and SBB Cargo on request.

Alternative routes – they exist

Stahlhut is particularly bothered by the fact that despite the handbook, even after five years, a little-used alternative route not far from the Rhine Valley Railway has hardly received any attention: the old Gotthard feeder line in Alsace. Although there is a language barrier because German and French train drivers cannot exchange information, this coordination problem can be overcome with the necessary training.

Legend:

The terrain at the construction site of the Rastatt railway tunnel lowered on August 17th. The tunnel was then filled with concrete over a distance of 150 meters.

Keystone/DPA/Uli Deck

Looking into the future makes the Hupac boss nervous. Because in August 2024 another major closure of the goods corridor is planned – for three weeks between Rastatt and Baden-Baden. Now the railway companies and states would have to work out solutions at the highest level: “It would be fatal if we woke up in August 2024 without a plan.”