GERMANY | High Speed Rail

[coolminx]

http://www.german-embassy.org.uk/new...of_berlin.html

Berlin's new central station opens this weekend



Berlin's latest architectural landmark, the Hauptbahnhof (central station), is now complete. The ceremonial opening takes place on 26 and 27 May with a spectacular light show for an expected 100,000 spectators and an address by Chancellor Angela Merkel.



The $850-million, five-level station has been nearly 15 years in the making. Planning began in 1991 just after the formal reunification of communist East and democratic West Germany, and construction took eight years.


Each day, 1,100 long-distance, regional and local trains will pass through the new station — one every 90 seconds. dpa photo

Some 100,000 spectators are expected to attend the station's ceremonial grand opening on May 26.

It will include a spectacular lightshow and an address by Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by a large party on May 27 before the station goes into operation on May 28.

some pictures of the Lightshow Test Installation last Night ...





The new Hauptbahnhof will face its first big test in June, when Germany hosts the soccer World Cup. Several games will be played in Berlin and nearby Leipzig, and officials expect thousands of international visitors to pass through the new station.

a great earCandy => http://dojo.fi/~rancid/loituma__.swf

[LuckyLuke]

We already have a thread here:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=354745

[Bikkel]

It's Europe's biggest! More here: http://morgenpost.berlin1.de/z/photo...e3984bcbdbba4e

[earthJoker]

Only the biggest cross train station, not the biggest train station of europe, not even of germany.

[GrimBrother]

Originally Posted by earthJoker

Only the biggest cross train station, not the biggest train station of europe, not even of germany.

It is the biggest rail station in Europe at least according to BBC and other stories I just read. Maybe it is technically the biggest passenger rail station and perhaps there are some freight?? stations that are bigger but I am fairly sure it is the biggest passenger rail hub in Europe. However, I doubt it will be the busiest in Europe or even close as Berlin is on the periphery of the German rail network.
Either way its an impressive construction.

[C-Beam]

Originally Posted by GrimBrother

It is the biggest rail station in Europe at least according to BBC

The "biggest" by what measure? Sqare meter, number of platforms, number of passengers? It sure doesn't look that big on first sight. It has for instance onlys 12 platforms (4 in east-west and 8 in north-south direction) for long distance traffic, compare that to Frankfurt's main station which has 24 platforms for long distance trains. And the number of passenger expected for Berlin Hauptbahnhof is 300,000/day whereas Frankfurt already today serves 350,000/day. Where Berlin beats Frankfurt however is in the 70,000 sqm of space it offers (Frankfurt 60,000), but another German central station, the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, has 83,000 sqm of space and beats Berlin once again. So I wonder by what measure the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof can be sonsidered to be "the biggest".

Frankfurt, twice as many platforms for long distance traffic. 50,000 more passengers/day than Berlin.


Leipzig, 13,000 sqm more than Berlin.

[coolminx]

(...) Frankfurt's main station which has 24 platforms for long distance trains (...)

because Frankfurts station still uses the "old" concept of head stations of the last centuries ... this always means: many plattforms ...

the Berlin Rail Station follows a newer concept (and is no headstation but a cross station. it is europeans biggest Cross Station):
newer concepts avoid much plattforms. they NEED as less plattforms as possible ...
taktrates are important => trains came in, ultra short stay (90 sec), and out ... next train come in ... tack tack tack tack tack ...

[pflo777]

why is it so important that the station is a cross station?

I mean, how many important trains are running on the stadtbahn viaducts?
In the end, those few regional trains could also use the new tunnels, no?

[coolminx]

some reasons ...

one is: better connection to all directions ...

another one: you reach the service area (in the middle of the cross) from all plattforms within an 'half train length'. changing a train with full service support included (buying something, changing money, informations etc.) means in the worst case situation: max. 'one train length' for all directions/combinations ...

thats of course also important for the taktrate thing ...
and it is more passenger friendly ...

yet another reason for less plattforms: its more efficient and cheaper (in building and under the aspect of regular support payments)

[earthJoker]

Yes it is europe biggest cross station, still it isn't the biggest overall.

[nofriends]

Can anyone give me a link to high res pictures of this...ive been looking for good pictures but cant find any on google. Please at least 1600x1200

[dreaad]

AMAZING

[pflo777]

Bavaria set to build high-speed maglev line from Munich to airport

© AP
25.09.2007 09:39:22

(live-PR.com) - MUNICH, Germany (AP) - Bavaria's state government said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to build a high-speed magnetic-levitation train from Munich to the city's airport.
The so-called Transrapid line would be the first to operate commercially in Germany. So far, the German technology has gone into regular service only in Shanghai, China.
«The state of Bavaria, (railway operator Deutsche) Bahn and the major industrial partners yesterday signed an agreement for the realization of the Transrapid project in Munich,» the state government said in a statement.

The Bavarian government has long strongly backed the project, but it has faced arguments over financing. Regional authorities did not immediately offer further details of the agreement.
The German maglev trains are built by Transrapid International, a consortium including ThyssenKrupp and Siemens.

[goschio]

Great news. Germany's first maglev line.

Another news source states that construction will will be finished in 2014.

[pflo777]

btw, there is a special maglev newspaper, that is being published every second month...

http://www.magnetbahn.de/site/dbmagn...en__07__02.pdf


and heres a pdf describing the project

http://www.magnetbahn.de/site/dbmagn...__englisch.pdf

[pflo777]

some more maglev news concerning the go-ahead for the munich maglev line:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7011932.stm

Germany to build maglev railway

Shanghai's maglev train started commercial service in 2003
Germany has come up with the funds to launch its first magnetic levitation - or maglev - rail service.
The state of Bavaria is to build the high-speed railway line from Munich city centre to its airport, making it Europe's first commercial track.

Maglev trains use electric-powered magnets that enable them to float above their tracks, allowing for much faster speeds than traditional rail services.

The 1.85bn-euro ($2.6bn; £1.3bn) project had faced financing problems.

However, the Bavarian state government said it had signed an agreement with rail operator Deutsche Bahn and industrial consortium Transrapid that includes the developers of the train - Siemens and ThyssenKrupp

....

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...507668,00.html

Germany to Build High-Speed Transrapid Train
Germany developed the Transrapid monorail 'magnetic levitation' train decades ago but couldn't decide whether to use it. Until now: Bavaria plans to use it for a link between Munich Airport and the city center.

[Novak]

Great news indeed

[pflo777]

new rendering with next generation of maglev trains TR09 published:

[TRZ]

I'd say they are getting a pretty good price on it as well, $65M/km. Decent.

[Bitxofo]

Wonderful news!

Congratulations!!