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Tunnel Reitersberg

The Reitersberg Tunnel is part of the new line Ebensfeld - Erfurt (Transport Project German Unity Rail No. 8.1). The 2,975 m long tunnel is located within the approx. 5.6 km long construction section Rödental in the district of Coburg. With a total length of 2,975 m, the Reitersberg Tunnel is the fourth-longest tunnel of a total of 22 tunnel structures along the new section. 

Geologically, the Reitersberg Tunnel is embedded in units of the Lower Keuper (mainly clay and sandstones), the Muschelkalk (dense limestones and marl stones with embedded late limestone banks) and the Upper Bundsandstein. The maximum cover is approx. 90 m.

The single-tube tunnel construction was driven in reverse by means of dredging and blasting. The driving from the south portal amounted to 1,926 m, the north driving to 1,009 m. The remaining 40 m will be excavated using the open cut method. The tunnelling work was carried out in shotcrete construction (NÖT) using excavator and blast tunnelling. 

The construction of the Reitersberg tunnel was the first time in Germany that a base bridge was used. In the original planning, the entire inner shell was to be constructed within a period of approx. 9 months after completion of driving. The implementation of this target would have required the use of several formwork units, among other things. In order to increase the quality by equalizing the individual concreting processes and to guarantee the completion date, the executing consortium decided to start with the construction of the inner shell parallel to the driving. 

A mobile base bridge was used for this purpose, which makes it possible to carry out all work below the bridge for the construction of the base vault of the tunnel tube and at the same time to guarantee all transports for the supply and disposal of the driving work via the bridge. The total length of the bridge is approx. 92 m and spans three working areas (waterproofing, reinforcement, concrete). The cantilever steel construction is designed for construction vehicles with a maximum total load of 50 tonnes. 

The inner shell, with a thickness of up to 90 cm, is designed to retain water under pressure by means of a plastic sealing membrane (KDB). A mobile mixing plant was installed on site to provide the required quantities of concrete (shotcrete and in-situ concrete).

  • Country: germany
  • Region: Bavaria
  • Tunnel utilization: Traffic
  • Type of utilization: Main-line Rail
  • Client: DB Netz AG, Leipzig
  • Consulting engineer(s): Arcadis Consult GmbH, ILF Beratende Ingenieure, Obermeyer Planen und Beraten GmbH
  • Contractor: RGE Rödental-Reitersbergtunnel: Alfred Kunz Untertagebau (TGF), Swietelsky Tunnelbau (KGF), Leonhard Weiss
  • Main construction method: Trenchless
  • Excavation method: Drill-and-blast
  • Lining: Concrete formwork
  • Total length: 2,935 m
  • Cross-section: 177 m²
  • No. of tubes: 1 (2 tracks)
  • Construction period: 03/2009 bis 07/2013
  • Opening: 2017
  • Constuction cost: approx. 123 Mio. €