Citybanan
Citybanan is a six-kilometer-long railway tunnel beneath Stockholm city center. The tunnel contains two tracks for Pendeltåg . The inauguration ceremony took place on July 9, 2017, and regular operations began on July 10, 2017. The cost was 17 billion Swedish kronor .
history
Before 1870, there were two terminal stations in Stockholm, Stockholm Norra stambanan in the north of the city and one in the south. A double-track connecting railway ( Swedish Sammanbindningsbanan ) between these terminals was inaugurated together with Stockholm C station in 1871. When the line was built, ten trains were running a day. Due to the strong increase in the number of trains, there had been long considerations to expand the route. The narrow passage between Riddarholmen and Gamla stan causes technical difficulties in order to arrange additional tracks, as the road traffic of the central bridge passes here and culturally and historically valuable buildings are in the immediate vicinity.
The construction of a third track and a tunnel variant were examined as early as 1988. The government decided in 1992 for the third track. After strong public protests and court rulings against the expansion because of the monument protection on Riddarholmen, the plan was dropped. In 1997, it was decided to build a second Årstabrücke and the four-track expansion to Stockholms södra station , which was completed in 2005. In 2000, the state railway administration Banverket was again commissioned to examine possible alternatives. In 2005 the decision was made for the tunnel variant described here. Due to a change of government, planning was stopped in 2006 in order to finally clarify possible alternatives. On May 31, 2007 the implementation of the construction project was finally decided. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place on January 24, 2009.
Previous situation
The southern entrance to Stockholm C has been a double-track line via Riddarholmen since 1871. These tracks were used by Pendeltåg, regional, long-distance and freight trains. The line has a maximum capacity of 24 trains per direction and per hour, which was reached almost continuously. A further expansion of local and regional public transport was therefore not possible.
In addition, a problem on this section of the route is causing delays throughout the greater Stockholm area. Long-distance trains from southern Sweden that end in Stockholm C have to leave the station to the north and change tracks there before they can go back to the station and on to southern Sweden. With the direct exit to the south, the trains would block both tracks for a short time, this is not possible due to capacity reasons.
The tunnel
The new line runs over a length of six kilometers in a tunnel with two tracks. The tunnel begins at Tomteboda on the northern city limits of Stockholm next to the Karolinska Institute . Here the route branches off from the northern entrance to Stockholm C. The tunnel then passes under Vasastaden , Norrmalm , Riddarholmen, the Söderström and Södermalm . It ends at the existing underground station Stockholms södra.
The tunnel was excavated using blasting, for which six working tunnels were built. A continuous escape and service tunnel was built next to the tunnel. A total of 4.5 million tons of rock had to be moved. At the deepest point at the Centralen station , the tunnel is 40 meters below the surface. The Söderström is crossed in a concrete tunnel on its floor, which was assembled from prefabricated parts under the water surface. It was not possible to pass under it due to the depth.
The track is prepared for equipping with ETCS .
Train stations
Odenplan station
The first stage of the expansion of the station under the Vasastaden district consists of a central platform with two tracks. A second platform can be expanded to four tracks at a later date. There is a possibility of changing to the Tunnelbana (Gröna linjen) and city buses. In addition, some shops are to be integrated into the station. In terms of passenger numbers, the station is to become the second largest in Sweden and replace the previous Karlberg station . Here and in the City Station, largely glazed platform screen doors were installed, which only open when the trains have come to a complete standstill. For this, train drivers have to stop to within +/- 75 cm.
City station
The station is at the deepest point of the tunnel 40 meters underground, next to the main train station and below the station of the Tunnelbana (Blå linjen). Here you can change to the long-distance railway and to all lines of the Tunnelbana. The station has two central platforms and four tracks, the main entrance is on Klarabergsgatan / Vasagatan .
Stockholm's Södra
The tunnel ends at the existing Södra station . This is located underground on Södermalm and consists of two island platforms with four tracks. The previous directional operation is abandoned. The northern platform and then the new western Årstabrücke are assigned to the Pendeltåg system. The southern platform and the old Årstabrücke are used for other traffic. An intersection structure between Älvsjö and Årsta was built for the necessary unbundling of the trains . The station can be converted to use the other platform again for the Pendeltåg trains at a later date.
Pictures from the construction
Söderström, Aug. 2009
Tunnel front, Sept. 2009
Working tunnel, Sept. 2009
Tunneling, Sept. 2009
Individual evidence
- ^ Första tåget på Citybanan gick som planerat. Expressen , accessed July 10, 2017 (Swedish).
- ↑ a b c d Project Citybanan i Stockholm. (PDF; 12.5 MB) Citybanan - en tågtunnel under Stockholm. Banverket, archived from the original on December 15, 2013 ; Retrieved October 29, 2013 (Swedish).
- ↑ Various reports on Citybanan. Sveriges Television AB, accessed October 29, 2013 (Swedish).
- ↑ officially byggstart för Citybanan (Swedish). Archived from the original on November 15, 2009 ; accessed on January 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Planbeskrivning Citybanan (Swedish). Archived from the original on December 15, 2013 ; accessed on January 11, 2016 .
- ^ Citybanan, Söderströmstunneln (Swedish). Archived from the original on January 11, 2016 ; accessed on April 4, 2018 .
- ↑ a b David Briginshaw: MTR drives up customer satisfaction and staff morale . In: International Railway Journal . tape 57 , no. October 10 , 2017, ISSN 2161-7376 , p. 28-31 .
Web links
- Nu rullar commuting i Citybanan. trafikverket.se, July 10, 2017, accessed July 10, 2017 (Swedish).