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78-419: Having been under consideration since the 1970s, and given planning approval during 1996, the tunnel's construction was delayed by decades due to a lack of financing. During 2013, construction finally commenced with the awarding of a contract to Arbeitsgemeinschaft Tunnel Rastatt ("Rastatt tunnel construction community"). In 2012, it was projected that Rastatt Tunnel should be opened during 2022. Being financed by

156-569: A backbone. In addition, two Regional-Express services would run every two hours: a faster regional train would run every two hours between Offenburg and Basel in less than 90 minutes, with stops in Offenburg, Lahr, Hebolzheim, Kenzingen, Riegel-Malterdingen, Emmendingen, Denzingen, Freiburg Hauptbahnhof, Bad Krozingen, Heitersheim, Müllheim, Weil am Rhein and Basel SBB. A slower RE would stop in addition at Orschweier, Ringheim, Schallstadt, Bad Bellingen, Efringen-Kirchen and Haltingen. For many stations,

234-401: A bridge for the old ground level railway over the eastern bore; a second slab was built over the western bore as well to avoid any possibility of reoccurrence. A section of the old railway was removed, which included the lifting of the rails, 400 sleepers, overhead line electrification (OLE), and around 2,500 tonnes of ballast , and rebuilt nearby to reposition the line to run through the site of

312-575: A financing agreement on the northernmost section of the Rhine Valley Railway. It includes a 16 km long (9.9 mi) northern section of line, which includes the Rastatt Tunnel. The section is designed for operations at up to 250 km/h (160 mph). At the end of February 2012, a notice was published on the tendering of the construction contract for zoning section 1, to which the tunnel belongs. The estimated contract value

390-414: A fundamental renewal of signaling installations began on the 120 km-long section between Offenburg and Basel. The line, which was previously equipped with mechanical interlockings —with the exception of Freiburg Hauptbahnhof —was converted to control by relay interlockings . By the late 1960s the line was already being used by well over 100 trains per day in each direction. With the commissioning of

468-657: A half-hourly service between Offenburg and Basel. At each end of the line are two of the largest marshalling yards in Europe : Mannheim marshalling yard and Basel SBB marshalling yard in Muttenz . One marshalling yard of this line—in Heidelberg —has been closed and the new district of Bahnstadt has been built on its site. There are still DB freight yards in Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Freiburg and Basel. Karlsruhe freight yard

546-443: A metre (1.6 ft) over a section of track that was about 6 to 8 metres (20 to 26 ft) long. In this area, the tunnel is covered by 5 m (16 ft) of material. Over the length of the bore, the ground was intentionally frozen with cooling liquid to −33 °C (−27 °F) to stabilise it. The bore was intended to run over a length of 205 m (673 ft) through completely frozen material, representing an innovation in

624-482: A rail accident in Germany. The line was originally built to 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) Irish gauge , but since the surrounding countries built their railways to 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) standard gauge , the line was converted to standard gauge between 1854 and 1855. Since Schwetzingen and Hockenheim were not on the line through Heidelberg, another line

702-452: A rectangular cross-section has been chosen with an equivalent cross-sectional area. The planned cover of the tunnels is between 3 and 20 metres (10 and 65 ft). The tunnels will run through sandy-gritty subsoil, mostly under the water table . The tunnel is the centerpiece of a 17-kilometre-long (11 mi) section of new line, which is designed for operations at 250 km/h (160 mph). The long-distance passenger services and part of

780-511: A result of subsidence caused by the boring of the Rastatt Tunnel under the line. The long-distance services towards Hamburg and Berlin are operated with ICE 1 trains and towards Dortmund with ICE 3 trains. EuroCity and Intercity services are mostly hauled by class 101 locomotives and regional services consist of class 146 and class 111 locomotives hauling double-decker coaches or Silberling coaches. In central Baden,

858-583: A route from Heidelberg via Schwetzingen to Karlsruhe. After the then third largest city in the Grand Duchy of Baden , Bruchsal learned of these plans, the Baden Parliament sat to consider a connection via Bruchsal and Durlach . On 2 January 1846, two trains ran into each other in St. Ilgen, a village near Leimen . One person died and 16 others were injured. This was one of the first fatalities in

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936-411: A similar cost as a tunnel, but it would not provide the same increase in capacity. In 2000, the planned tunnel would have had a length of 4,540 m (2.82 mi). The northern portal would have been at federal highway 462 and the southern portal would have been near Autobahn 5 . In 2002, the tunnel's planned length was 4,270 m (2.65 mi). The northern and southern portals had been moved to

1014-403: A temporary low-speed diversionary line around the tunnel site and generally for its lack of disaster mitigation planning. Initially, tunnelling work on both bores was suspended on 12 August 2017 immediately following the collapse, the focus of work being switched to stabilisation efforts instead. However, being sufficiently confident in the condition of the western bore, boring activity resumed in

1092-500: A total of approximately 4.7 million kilometres per year and run from December 2019 to December 2032. The investment of €250 million has been earmarked for its new rolling stock, which must be suitable for the Katzenberg Tunnel. In December 2015, the operational concept of a regional transport timetable between Offenburg and Basel was presented. It provided an hourly service over the whole route with stops at all stations as

1170-897: Is also known as the Rhine Valley Railway ( German : Rheintalbahn ) or the Upper Rhine Railway ( Oberrheinbahn ). The line was built as part of the Baden Mainline ( Badische Hauptbahn ). Between Mannheim and Rastatt it runs parallel to the Baden Rhine Railway ( Rheinbahn ). The Karlsruhe–Basel high-speed railway , called the Ausbau- und Neubaustrecke Karlsruhe–Basel in German (literally: "Upgraded and new line Karlsruhe–Basel"), has been under construction since April 1987. This includes upgrading

1248-513: Is equipped with electronic interlocking and is controlled from the control centre in Karlsruhe. The other are still operated locally, some using electromechanical interlocking. The double-track high-speed line through the Katzenberg Tunnel between Schliengen and Haltingen has been in operation since 9 December 2012. This will be complemented in the future by the segregation of fast long-distance passenger traffic and freight traffic in

1326-415: Is headed by a president. The EBA is the inspectorate and authorising body for the majority of German domestic, railway infrastructure companies that are owned by the government, referred to as federal railways ( Eisenbahnen des Bundes or EdB ), and for German and foreign railway transport operators in Germany. Non federally owned public railways and privately operated railways are under the supervision of

1404-580: Is projected to take until 2027. In 2012, it was projected that the project would have a total cost of around €693 million, including both the route and the tunnel itself; financing was provided by the German federal government. Mannheim%E2%80%93Karlsruhe%E2%80%93Basel railway The Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway is a double-track electrified mainline railway in the German state of Baden-Württemberg . It runs from Mannheim via Heidelberg , Bruchsal , Karlsruhe , Rastatt , Baden-Baden , Offenburg and Freiburg to Basel , Switzerland . It

1482-425: Is to be increased to four lines with the construction of the Rastatt Tunnel . Between Rastatt-Niederbühl and Offenburg, two new high-speed tracks have been completed next to the old double-track line. A new section of line from Schliengen to Haltingen between Freiburg and Basel, including the 9,385-metre-long (30,791 ft) Katzenberg Tunnel , was opened on 9 December 2012 to avoid a narrow, winding section between

1560-505: Is to follow in 2020 and trial operations are scheduled to start in 2022. Due to the geological and hydrological environment of the tunnel, a large part of it is being driven by two tunnel boring machines (TBMs), which travelled its length along the north-to-south alignment. Some of its length was tunnelled through ground that has been stabilised by a combination of ground freezing (using either brine or liquid nitrogen ) and concrete injections. Around 3,800 m (12,500 ft) of

1638-410: Is traversed by several Intercity-Express and Intercity services. The Rhine valley Railway is used by two Interregio-Express services and a variety of Regional-Express , Regionalbahn , S-Bahn and Stadtbahn services. In November 2015, the operation of a group of services called Netz 4 Rheintal , was tendered as three lots. The transport contracts for regional services on the line would cover

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1716-697: The Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) operates the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn services. Two system light rail vehicles of the GT8-100C/2S and GT8-100D/2S-M classes are used; some have toilets and panoramic windows. In the Upper Rhine, Regionalbahn services often use class 425 EMUs and occasionally they are operated with class 111 locomotives hauling Silberling coaches. Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft and

1794-625: The Breisgau S-Bahn operate Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1 and Talent 2 EMUs. The Ortenau S-Bahn also operates Regio-Shuttle EMUs. The Swiss Federal Railways operate Stadler Flirt EMUs between Basel SBB and Basel Badischer Bahnhof . SNCF operates TGV Duplex sets between Bruchsal and Appenweier and between Freiburg and Müllheim , stopping in Karlsruhe , Freiburg and some also in Baden-Baden . The Rhine valley Railway

1872-774: The Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn has operated on the Mannheim–Karlsruhe section of line and S4 ( Speyer –Bruchsal) on the (Speyer–Karlsruhe) section. Lines S31, S32, S4 and S41 of the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe operate between Bruchsal and Achern . Lines S32 and S4 continue from Rastatt to Achern. Regional-Express (RE) services of the Black Forest Railway have run hourly between Karlsruhe and Offenburg since December 2009; at times they run every half-hour; RE and Regionalbahn services together provide

1950-593: The Rhine and the Isteiner Klotz hills. The remaining sections between Offenburg, Freiburg and the Katzenberg Tunnel are still being planned. The Rhine Valley Railway is now one of the most important lines of Germany both for passenger and goods traffic, including international traffic to and from Switzerland and France. An investigation by the Hochschule Kehl (a school of public administration) estimated

2028-571: The Basel area. This will be made possible by the construction of another bridge over the Rhine on the so-called Connecting Line ( Verbindungsbahn ) between Basel Badischer Bahnhof (north of the Rhine) and Gellert junction (south of the Rhine). The section between Schliengen and Haltingen via Bad Bellingen was completely renovated while it was completely closed in the summer of 2014. Its tracks, sleepers and

2106-640: The General Railway Law ( Allgemeines Eisenbahngesetz or AEG ) and the EU guidelines in §25a of the AEG and is therefore responsible for the issue of vehicle index and classification numbers. The EBA has a flat organisational structure. Over 300 employees work at its headquarters in Bonn on the core issues, and another 1,000 people carry out the operational work of inspections and authorisations, occasionally on

2184-410: The German federal government, early projections forecast a total cost of around €693 million. On 12 August 2017, there was a collapse during the construction of the tunnel's eastern bore. This collapse not only affected the tunnel, but also stopped operations on the Rhine Valley Railway , disrupting international rail traffic; the line was not reopened until on 2 October 2017. While construction work on

2262-664: The German side of the Rhine was financed and built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway ( Großherzogliche Badische Staatsbahn ). At the enactment of the Baden law permitting the construction of the Baden main line on 28 March 1838, only the starting point in Mannheim and the end point in Basel had been determined. The route was determined by the Technischen Baukommission (“Technical Building Commission”), which

2340-485: The German states ( Bundesländer ), who can choose to transfer this responsibility to the EBA (§ 5 Abs. 2 AEG). To date 11 states, with the exception of Berlin , Bremen , Hamburg , Hesse and Lower Saxony have chosen to do so. In such cases the EBA works under the direction of the states. Since 1 January 2007 the EBA has run the railway vehicle register for Germany in accordance with § 5 Abs. 1e of

2418-756: The Mannheim– Graben-Neudorf –Karlsruhe line (the Baden Mainline as such) as well as the Mannheim–Heidelberg–Bruchsal– Durlach –Karlsruhe line (the Baden-Kurpfalz Railway ). Particularly after World War I it became a major line for international traffic. Beginning in the 1950s,the Rhine Valley line was progressively electrified, with the line fully electrified by the middle of 1958. In the late 1960s,

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2496-452: The TBM were delivered at the north portal at Ötigheim and were assembled there in preparation for driving the eastern tube from early February. The first TBM was symbolically launched on 8 December 2015. It was expected to start driving the eastern tunnel at the end of May 2016. A stretch of earthworks with a length of about 7.5 km (4.7 mi) was completed to the north of the tunnel at

2574-485: The aboveground options and to provide for a tunnel under Rastatt. As there is mainly rail-freight operating on the line and to achieve permissible noise levels for the local residents and avoid noise mitigation at the vehicles and tracks a tunnel was planned in the sandy plains of the Rhine valley. Also to avoid construction noise a construction in mining technique was foreseen instead of cut and cover what would be much simpler in this environment. The initially planned route of

2652-531: The airlock doors of the cross tunnels. The amended plans provided for a new safety concept over a length of 2,260 m (1.40 mi). The amendment was approved in November 2012. According to a media report the amendments to the plan were necessary because of new safety regulations (as of February 2012). On 24 August 2012, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development concluded

2730-448: The bores over top of the two concrete slabs. According to industry publication Rail Engineer, the costs associated with both the line's closure and the wider disruption caused to rail customers has been estimated to be as high as €2 billion. Rail freight operators had sought compensation for the impact to their businesses caused by the collapse and subsequent disruption, some companies publicly criticised DB specifically for failing to provide

2808-615: The contract for the shell of the tunnel was signed in Berlin. Construction work was expected to start in November 2014 with the preparation of a building site area in Ötigheim. The first tunneling machine was expected to be assembled in April 2015 and the driving of the tunnel was expected to start in October 2015. The completion of the shell was intended to be achieved at the end of the first quarter of 2018. The completion of technical construction

2886-501: The current line to four-tracks in places and the construction of new line elsewhere. It was originally envisaged as being completed in 2008. The new construction work will be completed by 2035. The existing Rhine Valley Railway will then be expanded in the Offenburg – Hügelheim section by 2041 for speeds of up to 200 km/h. The Mannheim–Basel railway is one of the most important routes in the Deutsche Bahn network. The railway on

2964-739: The decision on section 1.2, to which the tunnel belongs, was finalised on 11 August 1998. In the spring of 1997, the Federal Ministry of Transport commissioned Deutsche Bahn to carry out a study comparing an aboveground route with the underground route. The result was verified by the Federal Railway Authority ( Eisenbahn-Bundesamt ) and notified to the Baden-Württemberg state government in December 1997. The study confirmed that, an aboveground route would have

3042-424: The end of 2006 and it has been extended at Ötigheim since early 2013. In April 2016, the construction of the tunnel's connections were put to tender. Sensors at the tunnel construction site at Niederbühl reported a lowering of the track on the existing line above the tunnel on 12 August 2017 at about 11:00. Signals along the line automatically set to danger , stopping all train traffic. The track had subsided by half

3120-578: The first section of the Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway between Mannheim and Graben-Neudorf , the Rhine Valley Railway was relieved, making an integrated regular interval service possible. The signal boxes in Achern and Freiburg were built as electronic interlockings . The signal boxes at Leutersberg, Bad Krozingen , Heitersheim and Müllheim (Baden) have been modified under CIR ELKE and equipped with LZB . The current Baden-Baden station

3198-906: The former so-called "special assets" of the Federal Republic of Germany - the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Deutsche Reichsbahn - were reorganised into an operational division, the Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG), and two national authorities, the Federal Railway Office ( Eisenbahn-Bundesamt ) and Federal Railway Assets ( Bundeseisenbahnvermögen or BEV ), both subordinated to the Federal Ministry for Transport, Construction and Housing . A merger of these two authorities, originally planned for 2009, has currently foundered. The first president of

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3276-516: The ground; however, there was no immediate plan of how to resume construction of the eastern bore. By January 2018, such work was still pending and no recovery had taken place. By July 2018, limited activity was happening on the eastern bore, including the creation of an opening to act as an emergency escape and to aid logistics during further construction work. During August 2019, DB Netze announced that construction activity on Rastatt Tunnel would be fully resumed during 2020, and that its completion date

3354-522: The line until 7 October was expected. During the closure, an emergency bus service was established between Rastatt and Baden-Baden. This service was operated at six-minute intervals from 14 August; passengers were informed to expect extensions of travel time of at least an hour. The residents of four neighbouring houses were asked to leave them on 13 August. In rail freight, DB rail operations worked on alternative concepts that focused on large-scale bypasses and transfers to other modes of transport. A change in

3432-410: The line. The infrastructure needed for this is expected to be opened in 2031. Federal Railway Authority The German Federal Railway Authority ( German : Eisenbahn-Bundesamt , EBA ) has been the independent federal authority for the regulation of the railways in Germany since 1 January 1994. It is under the supervision and direction of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and

3510-403: The new line through Durmersheim , Bietigheim and Ötigheim was fought intensely by local residents. Under political pressure, the new route was eventually moved to follow the already planned deviation of federal highway 36 . According to Deutsche Bahn (DB), this transfer was possible at no additional cost, taking into account the need to resolve local issues if the previously considered route

3588-401: The north. In mid-2010, the length of the tunnel was quoted as 4,225 m (2.6 mi). In early 2009, it was intended to revise the planning for the Rastatt Tunnel, which was now over ten years old and to begin construction in early 2011. Both would be financed from funds from the economic stimulus package II. Because of the high financial requirements and the long duration of the project, it

3666-468: The number of train stopping would significantly increase. The tendering of the Freiburger Y network ( Netz 9b ) is also provided. The target concept for rail services in 2025 of the state of Baden-Württemberg, which provides—three trains each hour and in each direction between Offenburg and Freiburg and four between Riegel-Malterdingen and Freiburg—cannot be implemented because of the congestion of

3744-421: The planning approval process in late 1987. The B36 bypass was built between 2002 and 2004. The planning process for section 1 was launched on 27 June 1990. Due to the high cost of the tunnel solution, possible savings were investigated in 1991 and 1992, including other routes for the tunnel and a shorter tunnel. The planning approval procedure was completed on 19 March 1996. After several complaints were dismissed,

3822-508: The potential impact of further instability. As of February 2021, the tunnel's overall completion date has been set back to the "end of 2026". The 4,270-metre-tunnel (2.7 mi) will pass under the entire Rastatt urban area, the existing Rhine Valley Railway and the Federbach flats. It is the largest tunnel in terms of cross-section to be built on the high-speed line and begins east of Ötigheim and ends at Niederbühl. The distance between

3900-404: The rail freight traffic passing through the corridor are expected to use it. The local geology largely comprises sedimentary rock, while various underground rivers are also present in the vicinity; the Rhine itself is roughly seven kilometres west of Rastatt. It has been observed that there is a high presence of ground water around the tunnel's route, which is particularly concentrated around

3978-503: The railway infrastructure. Detailed regulations contain rules about the non-discriminatory access to railway infrastructure and the principles for granting rewards for the use of railway infrastructure under the Railway Infrastructure User Regulation ( Eisenbahninfrastruktur-Benutzungsverordnung or EIBV ). With effect from 1 January 1994, as part of the structural reformation of the German railways,

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4056-426: The repositioning, which is anticipated by 2021, the remaining portion of the eastern bore shall be excavated using an open 'cut-and-cover' method after inserting concrete walls to the required depth. Once the tunnel is complete, it shall be back filled and the old line repositioned above the eastern bore. Finishing work, including the construction of several cross passages and the entrance portals, as well as fitting-out,

4134-455: The sandy sediments found up to 10 metres below surface level. Between 1970 and 1983, more than 20 above ground options for section 1, to which the tunnel belongs, were considered. Under planning procedures introduced in 1983, five main above or underground options in the area Rastatt with different design speeds were examined. In its spatial planning assessment, the administration of the Karlsruhe region called on Deutsche Bundesbahn to discard

4212-570: The schedule of construction sites was considered. Within the framework of large-scale diversions, the Plochingen–Tübingen and Tübingen–Horb railways were temporarily operated around the clock on working days. The Netzwerk Europäischer Eisenbahnen estimated the revenue loss for freight companies at €12 million per week. Even with all the large-scale diversions, insufficient capacities would be available, since several detours were also blocked. By 15 August 2017, according to DB information, work

4290-452: The shell of the tunnel was awarded to Arbeitsgemeinschaft Tunnel Rastatt ("Rastatt tunnel construction community"), a company founded specifically to undertake this project. The technical leadership was taken by Ed. Züblin AG and the commercial leadership by Hochtief AG . The tunnel contract is worth €312 million; making it the biggest contract of the project in terms of value. On 4 August 2014,

4368-614: The spot, in twelve branches at 15 locations. Also within the purview of the Federal Railway Office is the responsibility for investigating railway accidents. In addition, the EBA has also taken on the responsibility for the approval and oversight of maglev railways under the General Maglev Law ( Allgemeines Magnetschwebebahngesetz or AMbG'). Since 1 January 2006 the Federal Network Agency ( Bundesnetzagentur ) has been responsible for overseeing access to

4446-514: The track-centres of the two single-track tunnels is 26.5 metres (87 ft) and they are linked at 500-metre (1,600 ft) intervals by cross passages. To the north and south are trough structures with a length of 800 or 895 metres (2,625 or 2,936 ft) connecting to the rail tracks on the surface. The gradient descends from both portals towards the centre of the tunnel. The two tracks are largely in circular tunnels with an inner radius of 4.80 metres (15.7 ft) in sections with an open design

4524-435: The traffic to be up to 286 trains a day. The line is overloaded and was considered to have an occupancy rate of 126 percent in 2011. Trains have to run at especially close intervals. All long-distance services stop at Mannheim , Heidelberg , Karlsruhe , Freiburg and Basel Bad Bf , some stop at Wiesloch-Walldorf , Bruchsal , Karlsruhe-Durlach , Rastatt , Baden-Baden and Offenburg . Since December 2003, line S3 of

4602-548: The tunnel began in the district of Niederbühl. Another exploration program began between Ötigheim and Rastatt Süd on 9 May 2012. Three rigs were due to drive 40 holes to depths of up to 40 metres (130 ft) by October 2012. Work on the ramp at the northern tunnel portal was tendered in March 2013. On 30 July 2013, the official ground-breaking ceremony was held at the future groundwater basin under Autobahn 5 in Niederbühl. This

4680-407: The tunnel was still estimated to be completed in the first quarter of 2018. According to an updated schedule of June 2015, the beginning of the tunnel drive had been delayed by three months to the spring of 2016 as the first parts of the tunneling machine would be delivered at the end of 2015. The completion of the tunnel shell is still scheduled for July 2018. From the end of 2015, the first parts of

4758-481: The tunnel would be bored, about 470 m (1,540 ft) would be built using the New Austrian Tunnelling method or by cut-and-cover. In early December 2014, Deutsche Bahn provided updated details of the procurement of the two TBMs. The two 90-metre long (300 ft) and 1,750 t (1,720-long-ton; 1,930-short-ton) machines would be provided by Herrenknecht AG . At the time, the first machine

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4836-510: The tunnels were renewed. As part of the expansion of the operations of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn , a three-track section is planned between Mannheim Hauptbahnhof and Mannheim-Friedrichsfeld Süd. Any further quadruplication towards Heidelberg is at the design phase (as of 2012). In March 2014, the EU provided grants amounting to 30 to 40% of the cost. Operations between Rastatt and Baden-Baden were blocked from 12 August 2017 as

4914-428: The unaffected western bore was resumed during September 2017, the eastern bore was intentionally sealed with concrete as a measure to stabilise the ground. The project was re-planned to account for the collapse; as of August 2019, the eastern bore is intended to be dug out using traditional cut-and-cover construction methods. The Rhine Valley Railway will also be relocated during the renewed construction phase to minimise

4992-399: The use of TBMs. As a result of a water spill, the tunnel was not accessible at first. At the time of the collapse, the breakthrough of the tunnel was believed to be close at hand. Following work to stabilise the area, DB Netze commenced work to plan the line's reopening and resumption of construction. The line was initially expected to remain blocked until 26 August. By 22 August, a closure of

5070-486: The western bore during early September 2017. Work on the eastern bore, which had been heavily affected by the collapse, remained suspended indefinitely at this point. A detailed evaluation of ground conditions, which involved a total of 60 bore holes, was conducted to help ascertain responsibility for the tunnel collapse. By early October 2017, proposals had been mooted for the recovery of the TBM's remains, which had been intentionally entombed in concrete, by digging it out of

5148-422: Was already being carried out on the restoration of the line, although the stabilisation of the tunnel still had remaining queries to address. It was anticipated that a 50 m long (160 ft) section of the eastern tube would be filled with concrete in order to stabilise the ground, allowing the re-opening of the railway line as soon as possible. This process necessitated the abandoning of the existing TBM, which

5226-470: Was chosen. According to DB, the selected tunnel solution is more economical, has greater capacity, would allow more efficient operations and would allow shorter journey times. As a result, the regional planning process was launched in July 1986 with the proposed route following the proposed new federal highway closely and then passing through a tunnel. In the middle of 1987, Deutsche Bundesbahn intended to initiate

5304-416: Was expected to be completed by October 2014 (as of late 2013). It was expected that the construction of the actual groundwater basin would begin in early 2015, By the end of March 2014, the earthworks for the northern groundwater basin has been completed. Starting in July 2014, sheet piles were driven into the ground in preparation of further construction activity commencing. The contract for construction of

5382-555: Was formed in 1837. It adopted as its basic aims that the construction cost should be as low as possible as was consistent with good running times and that the line should be built as straight as possible to connect the major cities. It decided that the should be built, if possible, in the Upper Rhine Plain . The first section between Mannheim and Heidelberg was opened in 1840 and the line was completed in several section to Basel until 1855. The first route designs provided for

5460-447: Was later separated from the stimulus package. In 2011, Deutsche Bahn proposed an amendment to the plan, with among other things, the longitudinal spacing of the cross tunnels reduced from 1,000 to 500 metres (3,300 to 1,600 ft) and special construction methods in the portal area to deal with tunnel boom . Among other things, the route of the eastern tunnel was shifted slightly to give a uniform distance of 12 m (39 ft) between

5538-414: Was now projected to occur during 2025, three years later than originally planned. As agreed, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Tunnel Rastatt would continue with work to finish the remaining 200 metres of the undamaged western bore, while DB shall reposition a 700-metre section of the old line to follow the course of the completed western bore on the surface, putting it clear of the eastern bore's construction site. After

5616-690: Was opened in 1870 on the Mannheim–Schwetzingen–Graben–Eggenstein–Karlsruhe route. A shorter and more direct line from Graben to Karlsruhe via Blankenloch was added in 1895 as a strategic railway . This converted the Karlsruhe–Eggenstein–Graben section of the old line into a branch line, now known as the Hardt Railway and partly incorporated into the Karlsruhe Stadtbahn . In the northern section between Mannheim and Karlsruhe there are two different lines,

5694-467: Was originally called Oos, between 1906 and the closure of the old Baden-Baden town station in 1977 it was called Baden-Oos and then it received its current name. As part of the construction of the Karlsruhe–Basel high-speed railway , it was planned in 1990 to upgrade the railway between Karlsruhe and Offenburg for continuous operations at 160 km/h. Under a German-Swiss convention, the entire line

5772-470: Was supposed to be converted to at least four lines by 2008, so that it could serve as the main northern approach route to the new Gotthard Base Tunnel line to Italy. As a result, Deutsche Bahn is building a high-speed line from Karlsruhe to Basel, including new and upgraded sections. Between Karlsruhe and Rastatt two lines run relatively near each other, effectively providing four tracks. The double-track section between Rastatt station and Rastatt-Niederbühl

5850-532: Was to allow construction work to commence between Basheide junction and Rastatt Süd. The work was expected to be completed by 2015. At the end of 2013, work began on the construction of the northern groundwater basin. As part of works worth about €13 million, a 700-metre long (2,300 ft) and up to 29-metre wide (95 ft) excavation pit was established and approximately 300,000 cubic metres (11 million cubic feet) of material and 11,400 square metres (123,000 sq ft) of sheet piles were installed. The work

5928-483: Was to be assembled in September 2015 and excavation work was set to commence during December 2015. The assembly of the second machine would begin in early January 2016 and the excavation would begin in April 2016. With a 10.97-metre wide (36.0 ft) boring shield, each TBM would prepare a usable section of 9.6 m (31 ft). The contract for the two machines was estimated to be worth €36 million. The structure of

6006-472: Was valued at €18 million, as it would remain in the ground. At the time, the means of addressing the damaged eastern bore of the tunnel, and the project's overall completion, were unclear. On 2 October 2017, the old rail line, which had been rendered unusable for nearly two months due to damage sustained from the collapse, was reopened. DB had constructed a large concrete slab, being 120 metres in length, 15 metres in width and one-metre deep, to effectively act as

6084-505: Was €808 million. Tendering and contracting were to run from May 2013 to August 2014. During 2001, the construction interval was forecast to take around six years to complete. However, prior to any work commencing, the construction phase of the project was subject to multiple postponements; according to the European Commission , these delays were due to a lack of available funds. On 7 April 2011, fresh exploratory drilling for

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