Profile of the Elsässer Railway To Be Adapted for Higher Cargo Trains
Cargo trains with semi-trailers with a corner height of four metres are planned to reach Basel via France in future. The aim is to shift additional freight transport from road to rail. The Swiss government has therefore instructed SBB to adapt the profile of the Basel St. Johann–Basel SBB railway line.
The profile of the Basel St. Johann–Basel SBB is to be adapted for semi-trailers with a corner height of four meters
Credit/Quelle: SBB/CFF/FFS
The European Union, the French government and the Swiss Federal Council want to make the NRLA routes more accessible via France. For example, cargo trains with semi-trailers with a corner height of four metres should also be able to reach the Gotthard and Lötschberg base tunnels via the Elsässerbahn railway.
In June 2020, Parliament instructed the Swiss Federal Council to conclude the corresponding state treaties. The aim is to shift additional freight transport from road to rail. The line failure in Rastatt, Germany, in 2017 also showed how valuable it is for the economy if several efficient routes are available on important transport routes. The federal government has therefore commissioned SBB to adapt the profile of the section of line between Basel SBB station and the border with France to accommodate the higher cargo trains. Work on the 118-million-euro project is scheduled to start in the second half of 2025 and be completed by the end of 2029.
Track Lowering in Two Tunnels
The south portal of the Schützenmatt Tunnel in Basel
Credit/Quelle: SBB/CFF/FFS
The project includes profile adjustments on the 4.2-kilometre section between the north portal of the Kannenfeld Tunnel and the Birsig river. The plan is to lower the tracks in the two tunnels Kannenfeld and Schützenmatt and adjust the overhead contact line accordingly. The same is necessary under two road overpasses. The lowering of the tracks will start in advance of the tunnel portals and overpasses, on the open track.
Wherever there is track lowering, the numerous utility line and stream crossings that run under the railway line must also be adapted. For reasons of synergy, it is also planned to renew the rails, sleepers and ballast of both tracks between the Kannenfeld Tunnel and the Birsig bridges – even where no track lowering is required. SBB also intends to repair the Birsig bridges at Basel Zoological Gardens as part of the project.
