Project

Expansion of rail line between Hüntwangen and Neuhausen

Given that it had become a bottleneck, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) rail line between Hüntwangen and Neuhausen was expanded from a single-track line to a double-track line. EBP played a leading role in the project’s planning and realization.

After the passage of legislation to enable the linking of the Swiss railway network to the high-speed European rail network, SBB acted on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Transport to complete various infrastructure development projects. The single-to-double-track expansion between Hüntwangen and Neuhausen, for instance, has enabled a 30-minute interval, long-distance rail service between Zurich and Schaffhausen. This expansion was also a prerequisite for securing improvements in international rail transportation between Zurich and the German city of Stuttgart.

Work on the single-to-double-track expansion between Hüntwangen and Neuhausen was divided into two railway segments.
The expansion of the 2.3-mile stretch between Hüntwangen and Rafz, including several underpasses and bridges, as well as the expansion of the Rafz railway station, began in June 2009, with segment operation in accordance with the new service schedule beginning in December 2010.

A 3.2-mile stretch from Jestetten to the Fischerhölzli Tunnel (near Neuhausen) was expanded separately. The scope of the expansion work included the renovation or replacement of various bridges and underpasses, the renovation and expansion of the Jestetten Railway Station and the removal of the train stop at Altenburg-Rheinau. Most of this segment passes through German territory and therefore needed to be approved by the regulatory authority in Germany – in this case the Regional Council in Freiburg. Some of the structures were built in accordance with Swiss standards and SBB specifications. Given their post-construction transfer to either the German state of Baden-Württemberg or the municipality of Jestetten, bridges crossing the SBB line were built according to the applicable German specifications.
Site work for the Jestetten railway expansion began in June 2010 and was brought to preliminary completion in 2012, thereby permitting rail operation in accordance with the new service schedule in December 2012.

The project was then wrapped up in the fall of 2013 upon the completion of the renovation of Lottstetten Railway Station.

Playing a leading role in the IG HüNe engineering consortium, EBP assumed responsibility for project planning, tendering and construction management.

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