Arlberg tunnel (railway)
| Arlberg tunnel | |
|---|---|
 In the middle part of the Arlberg tunnel
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| use | Railway tunnel |
| traffic connection | Arlbergbahn |
| length | 10.648 km |
| Number of tubes | 1 |
| construction | |
| completion | 1884 |
| business | |
| operator | ÖBB |
| Coordinates | |
| East portal | 47 ° 7 ′ 36 " N , 10 ° 15 ′ 57" E |
| West portal | 47 ° 7 ′ 52 " N , 10 ° 7 ′ 33" E |
Map with all coordinates: The Arlbergtunnel forms with a length of 10,648 m between St. Anton and Langen Arlberg the central part of the Arlbergbahn .
history
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 East portal directly at the train station in St. Anton
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| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 15 kV 16.7 Hz ~ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Arlberg Tunnel was built between the years 1879 and 1884 according to the so-called "Old Austrian Tunneling Method". Johann Bertolini , who was honored with the breakthrough medal for his work, was among the team leaders in the construction of the Arlberg railway tunnel from 1880 to 1884 . The puncture took place on November 19, 1883 on the occasion of Empress Elisabeth's name day . A memorial stone made on the occasion of the puncture was at the point of breach until 2000 and has since been on display in the platform underpass of the St. Anton train station.
On September 21, 1884, the tunnel, which was initially expanded to a single lane, was opened. The traffic developed so positively that on July 15, 1885, the second track through the Arlberg tunnel, which was planned to be two-track from the start, was opened.
Although the Arlberg tunnel was built in such a way that there was a height difference of 86 m between the two tunnel portals and thus natural ventilation was provided using the mostly prevailing westerly wind, steam operation soon proved to be problematic. There was no wind for about 80 days a year, which made air exchange difficult. For this reason there was a switch from coal to coke- firing. Since even this did not bring the desired success, in 1894 the system switched to locomotive firing with blue oil according to the Holden system. In order to be prepared for very unusual cases, the locomotive drivers were given protective equipment for the journey through the Arlberg tunnel, which allowed them to inhale oxygen at any time. According to tradition, on exposed days a dangerous vapor cloud containing sulfuric acid formed at the top of the tunnel , which remained stationary there due to a lack of ventilation. The locomotive crew avoided this dreaded plug by descending to the lowest step of the locomotive while driving in this area in order to get some air in front of their mouth with a cloth soaked in vinegar. On November 20, 1924, electrical operation began in the Arlberg tunnel using the 15 kilovolt 16 ⅔ Hertz system that was customary at the time ; so this problem no longer existed. In 1925 the ramp routes were also electrified.
As part of the expansion of the route for the 2001 Alpine World Ski Championships , the railway line that had previously run straight through the tunnel and then through the center of St. Anton was relocated to the southern edge of the village and, in connection with this, also the east portal of the tunnel. As a result, or by widening, the 10,249.90 meter long tunnel was extended 398 meters to the east.
Since the Arlberg massif already ended at the old east portal, the extension is just a track enclosure . A railway embankment had to be built in the area of the Rosanna , which flows under the extension . The track housing has a noise- reducing effect , avoids too great an optical dominance of the four-track railway systems in the station area in the narrow valley and also enables various ski slopes, hiking and goods routes to be guided over the track systems.
The extended Arlberg railway tunnel now flows directly into the St. Anton train station . Its four platforms can each accommodate a Railjet double train and protrude around 50 meters into the tunnel. The upper part of the historical east portal from 1884, which was made superfluous by the extension, has been rebuilt about 100 meters west of the reception building.
safety
To increase safety in the tunnel, six connecting tunnels with a length of 150 to 300 meters to the parallel Arlberg road tunnel were built between 2004 and 2007 in the first expansion stage . The maximum distance between these crosscuts is 1,700 meters.
The safety concept presented in 2008 includes two additional escape tunnels starting from the road tunnel, one of which leads to the Wolfsgruben tunnel and the other directly to the open-air site. It was not necessary to build a parallel escape tunnel, as the Arlbergstrasse tunnel can be used as an escape route with a maximum distance of 400 meters horizontally and 35 meters vertically. The safety concept that was worked out together with ASFINAG also includes the reverse use of the rail tunnel as an escape tunnel for the road tunnel.
Emergency vehicles can drive over the entire length and width of the railway tunnel. The concept was tested in October 2010 with an exercise in which around 200 exercise mannequins took part.
Due to the relatively narrow cross-section of the tunnel and the pressure waves generated by the trains, the maximum speed there is 100 km / h.
Memorial stone for the breakthrough in 1883
Breakthrough medal, Arlberg railway tunnel (1884)
The two Arlberg tunnels were connected with escape tunnels that lead into collecting rooms
Information board for self-rescue in the Arlberg tunnels
See also
- Trisanna Bridge , 20 kilometers to the east, the other extraordinary structure on the railway line
literature
- Carl Asmus, Johann Stockklausner, Albert Ditterich: The Arlbergbahn. (= Eisenbahn Journal Special. 1/95). Merker, Fürstenfeldbruck 1995, ISBN 3-922404-68-5 .
- The Arlbergbahn. Memorandum on the occasion of ten years of operation 1884–1894. Published by the kk Staatsbahndirektion in Innsbruck. Self-published, 1896.
- Christoph Thöny: "To the victims of the Arlberg tunnel" Death as a companion during the construction of the Arlbergbahn from 1880 to 1884 . In: Michael Kasper u. a. (Ed.): Dying in the mountains. Reality - Staging - Processing, Vienna a. a .: Böhlau 2018 (Montafon Summit; 3), pp. 161–180.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Retrofitting the Arlberg Tunnel (ÖBB)
- ↑ Hans Thöni: You built the Arlberg railway tunnel. published by the municipality of St. Anton am Arlberg. 2007.
- ^ FF St. Anton: Disaster exercise in the Arlberg tunnels. ( Memento from January 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Dr Michael Alexander Populorum: Arlbergbahn railway line Tyrol Vorarlberg Innsbruck Ötztal Landeck St. Anton Langen Arlberg Dalaas Bludenz ArlbergtunnelDEEF. August 12, 2018, accessed November 30, 2019 .