Commencement of construction activities for VDE 8 at Erfurt

Dr. Michael Bernhardt and Volker Hädrich, Deutsche Bahn AG Group Representative for Thuringia at the start of construction activities.

Construction activities are commencing near Arnstadt on the tracks and overhead contact lines on the new stretch of railway set to run between Ebensfeld, Erfurt and Leipzig/Halle.

Balfour Beatty Rail has been commissioned by Deutsche Bahn AG to construct a high-speed overhead line for the core of the high-speed stretch of track between Munich and Berlin, the section of line running approximately 33 km from Ilmenau to Erfurt.
The planned new railway development VDE 8 (German Unification Traffic Project) forms part of the easterly North-South axis in Germany and is designed as a double-tracked, electrified stretch of line for passenger and freight transport with a design speed of up to
300 km/h on the new sections. The following is included in the assignment: the equipping of the overhead contact system from the overtaking station Ilmenau-Wolfsberg to Erfurt-Land. Approximately 90 km of high-speed Re 330 overhead contact lines will be erected along the line, approximately 6.5 km of which will be located in the tunnel system. 1250 holes must be drilled for the catenary masts on the double-track for the 32.5 km section of line between Ilmenau and Erfurt for the Nuremberg-Berlin (VDE8) transport project, in order to provide electricity to this stretch.

The project is commencing in August 2010 and should be completed by May 2016.