Railway test facility Rheine – Freren
The Rheine – Freren railway test facility was a test facility planned by the German Federal Railroad in 1980 for high-speed traffic . A 22.7 km long section of the Duisburg – Quakenbrück railway between Rheine ( route kilometers 106,300) and Freren (km 129,000) via Spelle should be upgraded for top speeds of up to 350 km / h.
The main purpose was to examine the technical and economic limits of the wheel-rail system . In addition, theoretical work and tests on the Munich-Freimann roller dynamometer should be secured. The project was funded by the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology .
The project ultimately failed because the federal government blocked the funds that had already been approved. As a result, the high-speed tests were moved to the first completed section of the high-speed line Hanover – Würzburg , between Burgsinn and Hohe Wart.
course
The existing route is largely straight. In the southern section, between km 107.4 and 108.8, there were two arcs with a radius of 4,500 m and 10,000 m, which should be preserved. Additional shifts of the axis should also take place on the bed of a second track , which was planned in sections during the construction of the line, but not implemented.
The existing gradient falls in the southern section (km 106.300 to 110.936) first in a northerly direction, then runs flat and finally rises (km 110.519 to 110.936) with 12.5 per thousand. After a downward gradient (up to km 112.6; up to 1.08 per mille) the route continues flat (up to 2 per mille), with a single crest at km 116.4 to 118.0 (up to 5 per mille). This gradient should be reduced to a maximum of 7.6 per thousand.
aims
A large number of examinations should be able to be carried out on the system. So the ranged superstructure among other things, testing of the slab track and the ballast bed also provided at high speeds as experiments with new dam and Erdbauweisen, high-speed switches and new rail steels. In the area of vehicles , test vehicle 1 and the high-speed train intended for 350 km / h ( test vehicle 2 ) were to be tested. A major focus was also on the area of route-vehicle dynamics . Other focal points were also operational control technology, environmental protection and energy transmission.
history
After the roller dynamometer Munich-Freimann and a track test section between Munich-Karlsfeld and Dachau had been completed and the National Test Facility for Transport Technologies had failed in 1977 , the German Federal Railroad decided in 1978 to prepare a route for high-speed tests. After investigations, the 23 km long, single-track section between Rheine and Freren was selected. Even after the start of the trial operation, regular operation (since 1969 only freight traffic) should be completed before 9 or after 4 p.m. In November 1978 the Hanover Federal Railway Directorate was commissioned to prepare the section for the railway test facility ( EVA for short ). In the same month, the Rhein-Ruhr-Ingenieurgesellschaft (Dortmund) was commissioned with the planning of the facility (preliminary draft planning up to construction supervision) after the planning capacities of the Federal Railway Directorate had been almost completely exhausted by other new construction and expansion projects.
A route for 350 km / h with special solutions for clearance profile , track and bridges was planned. All level crossings were to be removed, the section electrified and numerous test vehicles installed.
The planning of the test route projected for 350 km / h posed great challenges for the engineers involved, as at that time a maximum of 200 km / h was driven in Germany. The results of test drives up to 250 km / h in the Gütersloh – Neubeckum section left questions unanswered and the know-how for the speed range above was completely lacking. Since regular freight traffic should also be carried out in addition to the trial operation, special routing and dimensioning principles were developed for the trial facility.
For the planning, the project was divided into three plan approval sections and 300 individual plans were introduced. The proceedings began in August 1979 (Section I) and November 1979 (Sections II and III). 73 objections from public bodies and 189 private objections were received, which led to changes to around 180 plans and were presented to those affected.
The planning lasted until mid-1980. At that time, the Federal Railroad did not expect the proceedings to be concluded before December 1980 (Section I) or not before March 1981 (Sections II and III). About two years were planned for the construction work (basic state).
The Rad / Schiene Research Association , in which the Federal Railroad was represented by the Federal Railroad Central Office in Munich , acted as the client . The planning and construction of the so-called “conventional part” was to be taken over by the Hanover Federal Railway Directorate. The research association wheel / rail was responsible for the test vehicles (status: mid-1980). Responsibilities for matters outside the immediate railway facilities were regulated on a case-by-case basis.
In the end, the project was not implemented because long-term tests would not have been possible despite the high expenditure. For further test drives, other existing and new lines were used.
literature
- Investigation of the expansion of the Rheine - Freren railway line for wheel-rail research . Expert opinion of the Institute for Transport, Railway Construction and Operation of the University of Hanover on behalf of the Hanover Federal Railway Directorate from April 1978 (editor: W. Wolters, H.-J. Hollborn)
- Gerhard Riechers: 100 meters / second on the rails . In: Der Eisenbahningenieur , Volume 31 (1980), Issue 7, pp. 301–309.
- Diethard Affeldt: Railway test facility Rheine – Spelle – Freren . In: Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau , Volume 29, Issue 10, pp. 685–696
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Test track for endurance tests . In: Die Bundesbahn , 9/1988, pp. 879–881.
- ↑ a b Laudation for Prof. Dr. Hubert Hochbruck . Extract from Axel Güldenpenning: Annual meeting 2004 of the DMG in Essen . In: ZEVrail Glasers Annalen , Volume 129 (2005), No. 1/2, pp. 6-15