Preliminary Planning Study New Railway Line Dresden - Prague Task 3 Technical Assessment of Major Structures 15. December 2015 Preliminary Planning Study New Railway Line Dresden-Prague Task 3 Technical Assessment of Major Structures Content 3. Technological assessment of main structures ...........................................................4 3.1 Route of the line........................................................................................................4 3.1.1 Location (surface conditions, objects) .......................................................................4 3.1.2 Route planning parameters (route, gradients, overlaps)............................................5 3.2 Tunnel structures ....................................................................................................12 3.2.1 Ground conditions (layers, ground water situation) .................................................12 3.2.2 Occurrence of fault zones .......................................................................................19 3.2.3 Construction method (shotcrete method / TBM method) .........................................24 3.2.4 Technological parameters for the construction process ..........................................36 3.2.5 Management of the volumes of excavated and blasted materials ...........................38 3.2.6 Tunnel structures ....................................................................................................50 3.2.7 Loading gauge and design of cross-section and emergency stopping point ............60 3.2.8 Design principles for tunnel lining, drainage and sealing and for structural fire protection ................................................................................................................68 3.2.9 Type and positioning of the safety and rescue systems ..........................................76 3.2.10 Logistics concept ....................................................................................................78 3.2.11 Analysis of geotechnical and construction method risks ..........................................80 3.2.12 Assessment of the feasibility of the chosen tunnel solution .....................................81 3.3 Major bridges and viaducts .....................................................................................87 3.3.1 Required structures ................................................................................................87 3.3.2 Assessment criteria ................................................................................................87 3.3.3 Bridge Structures ....................................................................................................89 3.3.3.3 Seidewitz viaduct ....................................................................................................96 3.3.4 Construction costs ................................................................................................ 100 3.3.5 Next steps in the planning process ....................................................................... 100 Page 2 Preliminary Planning Study New Railway Line Dresden-Prague Task 3 Technical Assessment of Major Structures Task 3 Technological assessment of main structures 3. Introduction The actual railway routing of the line is based on the line routing in the preferred alternative 1.1 from the 2012 study (Project TEN 22, „Study of line/route alternatives for joint cross- border planning“), which is to be optimized as a result of further studies on the sensitivity of the area, the basic geological and hydrogeological data and the planning on the Czech side. The main connecting nodes Dresden (Heidenau) Line No. 6240 and at the D/CZ border after the E 55 (A 17) motorway – Ústí nad Labem (Prague) were derived from the 2012 study on the new railway line. The area being examined for its spatial and environmental resistances starts on the German side south of Dresden in the Heidenau district at the Station Heidenau Süd on the existing railway line Dresden – Pirna no. 6240. It continues in a south-easterly direction past Pirna via the Pirna-Zehista district (Seidewitz Tal) towards Dohma, and then in a large curve via the mountain ridge Lohmgrundrücken towards the southwest bypassing the health resorts of Berggieshübel and Bad Gottleuba, towards Breitenau also bypassing the Gottleuba dam and reaching the Czech border. The route crosses the E 55 (A 17) motorway on the Czech side west of the Spicak Mountain (723 m + NN) and leads south towards the town of Chlumec. The area being studied ends on the Czech side where the new line is integrated into the existing SZDC network north-east of Chabarovice and into the new railway station in Ústí nad Labem. Because of the geographical situations in the valleys of the Elbe and the Seidewitz River and the Ore Mountains and in view of the maximum permissible longitudinal gradient, the route mostly runs via tunnels and a major bridge structure. Page 3 Preliminary Planning Study New Railway Line Dresden-Prague Task 3 Technical Assessment of Major Structures 3.1 Route of the line 3.1.1 Location (surface conditions, objects) The final result of the feasibility study submitted in 2012 showed three different variants for the railway layout (No. 1.1, 1.2, and 2). The variant 1.2 did not correspond to the planning target for the operation of trains with a mass of up to 1600 t to be run without restriction because of the longitudinal slope of 20‰ in some sections. The variant 1.2 was therefore disclosed for the next planning step. The variant 1.1 complies with the restriction of a longitudinal slope of 12.5 ‰, therefore this variant was the preferred solution in 2012. In this study a route alternative was developed from the preferred variant 1.1. This optimized variant 2015 does not cross the Bahretal and the community of Gersdorf which possesses excessively high spatial resistance for these two settlements and also avoids expected impact for the FFH-conservation area DE-5049-304 Bahrebachtal and the bird protection area DE- 5048-451 Osterzgebirgstäler like the initially preferred variant 1.1. Conflict Analysis In the course of a conflict analysis (tasks 2.1 and 2.2), the following environmental aspects were studied within a defined planning corridor along the previously defined preferred variant 1.1 (2012 study): • settlement areas • spatial development plans • projects planned by third parties • nature and the environment • geophysics (mining, fault zones). The land use conflicts that arose were categorized and structured with regard to the railway route and the conflicts which are significant for decisions on the route were identified. The individual conflicts were looked at in more detail and the route was optimized as far as possi- ble with regard to these constraints. Route Optimizations Furthermore a number of route optimizations for the prevention and control of the anticipated effects on the environment have been made: 1. At the connection to the existing line in Heidenau the tunnel beginning has been shift- ed in order to reduce the expected impact on a FFH-conservation area and on settlements areas like Heidenau industrial park or an old underground cavity called „Pechkeller“. Page 4 Preliminary Planning Study New Railway Line Dresden-Prague Task 3 Technical Assessment of Major Structures 2. The planned railway viaduct in the Seidewitz valley was placed closer to the planned Pirna road bypass (DEGES project) to minimize the interference with the existing settlement structure in the urban district “Zehista” (bundeling effect). 3. In the area of “Lohmgrundrücken” the required open cut section at the beginning of the border tunnel has been shortened by extending the tunnel, reducing significantly the permanent effect on the groundwater. The final optimized route 2015 is around 800 m shorter than the preferred alternative 1.1 from 2012 3.1.2 Route planning parameters (route, gradients, overlaps) According to the project specifications, the route of the new railway line is to be designed for high-speed passenger traffic with v max = 200 / 230 km/h and goods traffic with v max = 120 km/h. For this parameters DB Netz AG regulations specify that the new railway line shall be assigned to a route standard classification called M 230. The operational speed on this section will be between 160 km/h and 230 km/h. The distance between the centres of the track is therefore 4.50 m (4.00 m for TSI routes). For overtaking of trains the distance between the track passing stations should be between 8 km and 20 km according to DB regulations. Sections of the track for overtaking should be 750 m long for goods trains. Crossover switches should be at intervals of 8 km (distance from station) and 20 km according to DB regulations. Blocks for signalling purposes should be between 1.5 km and 4.0 km long in accordance with the design calculations. Speeds of entry into/exit from sets of point switches should be between 80 and 100 km/h. In crossovers, speeds should be between 80 and 100 km/h. According to railway regulation TSI-INF-2014-1299, the maximum permissible longitudinal gradient for mixed traffic lines is 12.5 ‰. The gauge profile GC specified by EBO/TSI must be complied with. According to DB regulations, the route is classified as load category D4 (axle load 22.5 tons, line load 8 t/m) + SSW (heavy load waggon). On tracks used for overtaking, hot wheel and axle detection devices must be installed. Page 5 Preliminary Planning Study New Railway Line Dresden-Prague