North-South light rail

This article deals with a new light rail construction in Cologne; For the popularly popular street with the same name in the same place, see north-south journey .

North-South light rail
Map of the north-south light rail
Route length:	4 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Stations:	9
course
Legend from Ebertplatz from Appellhofplatz Breslauer Platz / Hbf Cathedral / Central Station (Start of 1st construction stage) (Branch at the same level) town hall Hay market Waidmarkt track changeover route separation (city archive collapse site) Severinstrasse Carthusian court Chlodwigplatz Bonn Wall to the Rheinuferbahn (2nd construction stage) End of the north-south tunnel Market street (End of 1st construction stage, start of 3rd construction stage (under construction)) Caesar Street Bonner Strasse / Belt Ahrweilerstrasse Arnoldshöhe (End of 3rd construction stage, start of 4th construction stage)

Construction sign of the Cologne-Süd light rail on Rose Monday 2010

The north-south light rail is a project to expand the Cologne light rail with a tunnel stretch under Cologne's old town between the existing inner city tunnel and the Rhine .

The Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB), the builders, described the expansion as the largest urban development project in Germany at the time, with construction costs estimated at 1.1 billion euros in 2008. In their own publications, the KVB usually refer to it - contrary to the current spelling - as the north-south tram .

Numerous incidents occurred during the construction work, the most serious of which was the collapse of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne on March 3, 2009. The entire route may be commissioned by the end of the 2020s.

Project description

According to the original plan, the project comprises three construction stages with a total route length of around 6.6 kilometers. The first two should originally go into operation at the same time in 2010 or 2011.

The project management is held by the Office for Bridges and Light Rail Construction of the City of Cologne. Construction supervision was initially carried out by the KVB itself, until, following the collapse of the historical archive, the responsible district government in Düsseldorf assigned this task to the engineering office Spiekermann on April 16, 2009.

First construction stage

The first construction stage comprises the approximately four kilometer long tunnel section under Cologne's old town. The two single-track tunnels begin at Breslauer Platz on the north side of the main station , cross under the embankment and the Philharmonie before they merge with an existing tunnel from the Dom / Hauptbahnhof underground station . The tunnels pass under the buildings of the old town from Alter Markt ( Rathaus station ) via Heumarkt to Waidmarkt at a depth of up to 28 meters and then follow Severinstrasse and Bonner Strasse . The line comes to the surface south of the Bonner Wall underground station . The first construction stage ends above ground at the three-track Marktstraße stop .

Due to the collapse and its consequences, the first construction stage was in fact divided into three parts. The middle part at the collapse site on Waidmarkt can only be completed six to seven years after the expert evidence has been preserved.

The part north of the collapse site went into operation with a preliminary operation of line 5: between the cathedral / main station and town hall in December 2012, further to the Heumarkt in December 2013.

The part south of the collapse site from the Severinstraße transfer station including the branch to the second construction phase south of the Bonner Wall stop has been on line 17 since 2015. The section to the Marktstraße station is not used.

Second construction stage

Construction site of the 2nd construction stage

The shorter, second construction phase comprises a section of around 600 meters and branches off the tunnel of the north-south light rail at the Bonner Wall stop . The tracks are routed underground south of the railroad embankment in the direction of the Rhine, then leave the tunnel and join the existing Rheinuferbahn with line 16 south of the southern bridge , in the direction of the Schönhauser Straße stop .

The Rheinuferstraße is crossed at the same level. An underground crossing has been discarded for cost reasons and because of technical difficulties, especially because of the then necessary flood protection. However, the foundation of the crossing was designed in such a way that a possible later construction of a short road tunnel would be possible without interrupting rail traffic.

The second construction phase went into operation with line 17 at the end of 2015. Commissioning at the same time as the first construction phase was necessary in order to maintain the eligibility of the overall project.

Third construction stage

The third construction stage comprises the two-kilometer above-ground extension of the north-south light rail from the Marktstraße stop to Arnoldshöhe at the distribution circle, the end point of the A 555 . The tracks are to be in the median of Bonner Strasse, and the street space is to be rearranged at the same time.

The main points of contention were the number of lanes left on Bonner Strasse for individual traffic, the number of parking spaces and trees to be felled, the demolition of individual houses along the route and the position of a park-and-ride facility at the southern end. At the beginning of 2008 it was decided to reduce the Bonner Straße north of the belt to two lanes, but to keep the four-lane carriageway between the belt and the distribution circle.

Originally, the third construction phase was supposed to be completed together with the other two, around 2010, which was given up early due to a lack of completed planning and financing.

In January 2013, the city of Cologne began to inform the affected citizens of the southern districts in more detail about the current planning status. The required plan approval procedure was applied for at the end of 2013. After delays in the planning approval process and ongoing legal proceedings, the preparatory work by the energy supplier and the municipal drainage company began in February 2018. According to the KVB, the track construction work can begin around a year later and be completed by 2022, so that the third construction phase could go into operation before the first. ^[outdated]

Fourth construction stage

In a possible fourth construction phase, the route is to be run over a length of around five kilometers above ground, with appropriate stops, via the village of Rondorf to Meschenich . There the train is to end at the northern exit of the town for the time being. A continuation through the town to its southern edge is possible if, among other things, the financing issue can be positively clarified.

Before the start of the construction work on the third construction phase, planning for the fourth construction phase began. The concrete results on this should be discussed in administration, politics and the public from the second half of 2017. The continuation of the railway line via the so-called distribution circuit south, which is right at the beginning of the new line immediately after the last stop still to be built, Arnoldshöhe of the third construction stage, proved to be contentious .

Three main variants were conceivable or under discussion: firstly, an underpass solution through a tunnel, secondly an overpass solution with a bridge (so-called fly-over solution ) and thirdly, crossing the roundabout at ground level, probably with a traffic light solution. Due to strong criticism of the first and especially the second variant of the solution, the recently discussed third variant of a ground-level continuation currently seems to be the most promising solution. Due to the planned expansion of the Rondorf district and the expected higher number of residents, the probability that the expansion is worthy of funding by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia increases. The Office for Bridges, Tunnels and Light Rail Construction of the City of Cologne considers an expansion to be possible from 2024.

history

Former planning for the north-south light rail in the 1960 / 1970s

from Ebertplatz from Appellhofplatz Breslauer Platz / Hbf Cathedral / Central Station (Gleisdreieck at the same level) town hall Hay market Waidmarkt Severinstrasse Carthusian court End of the north-south tunnel Chlodwigplatz Chlodwigplatz (stop of the ring line) Rolandstrasse Bonntor Existing route to Marienburg Market street Reversing loop for amplifier trains Caesar Street Bonner Strasse / Belt Ahrweilerstrasse Arnoldshöhe Planned further construction towards Meschenich

Until the Second World War , Cologne's old town was served by a dense tram network, which was largely destroyed along with the surrounding buildings during the course of the war. After 1945, the lines in this area were not rebuilt. At times, a purely above-ground development with an Alwegbahn was considered. The inner city tunnel was first built in the 1960s.

At this point in time, the general transport plan provided for a north-south tunnel. The first concrete planning largely coincided with the current route, only in comparison a shorter tunnel, which should only lead to Chlodwigplatz, and an integration of the existing route to Marienburg was planned. The plans also included a stop at Waidmarkt. Due to the Duewag articulated wagon , which dominated the fleet at the time and was intended for equipment operation and only had doors on the right-hand side, in contrast to today, the north-south light rail system was to be equipped with turning loops and low-floor side platforms, while today's north Süd-Stadtbahn is being built with high-floor platforms in the middle position and reversing tracks, as the type B and K5000 / K5200 trams that are now in use are designed for such routes.

The current route was decided in 1992. The planning process was concluded with the plan approval decision in June 2002. Construction started in January 2004. The contract for the shell construction of the tunnel and bus stops was awarded on November 3, 2003.

Alternative route concepts envisaged a tunnel from the main train station to the Heumarkt. The north-south light rail system was then to be run above ground over the existing route of the Rheinuferbahn along the Rheinuferstraße. The route would have had less of a development effect. However, the estimated construction costs were significantly lower.

Construction progress

Provisional terminus at Breslauer Platz

The first construction phase was mainly built underground. Three tunnel boring machines were used, which were named "Tosca", "Rosa" and "Carmen" after a song by the Höhners .

The structurally identical machines Tosca and Rosa started their shield journeys (shield diameter 7.3 meters) in summer 2006 on Bonner Wall and reached Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz in summer 2007. The Tosca east tube (trains towards the city center) is 2,688 meters long. The west tube Rosa is slightly longer at 2692.5 meters and will be used by trains heading south.

The somewhat smaller machine Carmen carried out two parallel shield journeys with a shield diameter of 5.7 meters and a total length of 259 meters from Breslauer Platz under the embankment at the main train station in 2006/2007 . The connection of the two tubes with Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz was carried out using compressed air propulsion due to the limited space available under the Philharmonie.

The stops are created between the two tunnel tubes. These were diaphragm wall boxes created. Depending on the space available, these boxes were driven through by the tunnel boring machines or built between the tubes and then breakthroughs were made in the tunnel tubes under the ground freezing or compressed air.

In January 2009, construction work began on the second construction phase between Bonn Wall and the Rhine.

When the timetable changed on December 11, 2011, the completely rebuilt stop at Breslauer Platz / Hbf was put back into operation as the first part of the north-south light rail system.

Due to the construction delays, the northern section of the Dom / Hbf - City Hall was opened prematurely on December 9, 2012 on the basis of a council resolution by the City of Cologne. In December 2013, the next section up to Heumarkt (crossing station with the east-west route) went into operation.

After the court-appointed appraiser declared in May 2018 that the investigations into the collapse of the subway construction site and the Cologne city archive had now been completed, it appeared possible to resume construction work on Waidmarkt at short notice. Then completion of the continuous line in 2022 would have been conceivable.

In September 2018, however, the 5th civil chamber at the Cologne Regional Court issued a new order to the expert Hans-Georg Kempfert . He now has to examine the natural coal layer under the Waidmarkt at a depth of well over 30 meters.

In February 2019, the city of Cologne expected the renovation to start in mid-2020; The completion and commissioning of the 1st construction phase is expected for 2026/2027 at the earliest.

As of winter 2019/2020, the taking of evidence at the Waidmarkt by Prof. Kempfert should be completed in summer 2020. The renovation of the track change structure should be able to begin in the first half of 2021.

On June 29, 2020, the Cologne city council approved a settlement. This settlement stipulates that the ARGE will pay the city 600 million euros, guarantee the renovation and completion of the track change structure and erect a memorial room within the structure. At the same time, the city is dropping all demands on the ARGE. According to the city, the comparison will avoid a long-standing legal dispute and at the same time there is now a realistic schedule for the commissioning of the north-south light rail as a whole.

Operating concept

The operating concept for the north-south light rail provides for the main section to be operated with initially 18 pairs of trains per hour:

• Line 5 (Sparkasse am Butzweilerhof - Heumarkt) is to be extended from the Heumarkt stop to Marktstrasse , and after completion of the third construction stage to Arnoldshöhe ;
• line 16 (Niehl - Bonn-Bad Godesberg) is to leave its previous route at Breslauer Platz . At Bonn Wall , line 16 unthreads from the main line and, in the course of the second construction phase, will be led to the Schönhauser Strasse stop , where it will rejoin its previous route;
• a new line that reaches the north-south light rail from Reichenspergerplatz via Ebertplatz and Breslauer Platz and travels the full length to the terminus at Marktstrasse . Originally, these trips were planned as route 17, but now they are operated as compressors on route 16. Until 2003, instead of this line, it was planned to run line 6 from Longerich via the north-south light rail to Arnoldshöhe. Since line 6, which was discontinued in 2007, has been part of the low-floor network since the 12/2003 timetable change, it would no longer have been able to use the high-floor north-south light rail.

After completion of the first construction phase, line 16 will be significantly accelerated in this way, because the detour via the rings to Barbarossaplatz to get into the inner city tunnel will no longer be necessary. This also ends the mixed operation of high-floor and low-floor vehicles on the southern rings.

All three train groups are to run every 10 minutes, initially double trains are planned. The north-south light rail systems are designed with a platform length of 90 m for triple units.

Partial commissioning

Installation of rails in the tunnel between the cathedral / main station and town hall

The Rathaus stop shortly after commissioning (2012)

Since construction work on Waidmarkt has been suspended since 2009, the KVB initially put the northern section into operation as a branch line: since December 9, 2012, line 5 has been running from the cathedral / main station to the new Rathaus stop and since December 15, 2013 to Heumarkt . For the partial commissioning, additional investments of around four million euros were necessary for temporary solutions. In addition, the construction of a substation intended for the east-west route on Heumarkt was brought forward and initially used for the north-south light rail. For the dismantling of the temporary structures, the northern section must be shut down for around six months before the entire route is commissioned.

With the timetable change on December 13, 2015, the southern section of the north-south light rail from the Severinstraße stop was also put into operation early. There line 17 runs from Severinstraße via the Bonner Wall stop and the second construction section to the Rheinuferbahn line and ends in Rodenkirchen or Sürth. The KVB and the municipal utilities want to assume all costs. Initially, a shuttle line to Marktstrasse was also conceivable, which, like the Berlin U55, would not have had a track connection to the rest of the network.

criticism

Above all, the plans for the third construction phase along the main traffic artery “Bonner Strasse” are heavily criticized by citizens' associations, environmentalists and political groups such as the Cologne Free Voters . The planned dismantling of Bonner Strasse to only two lanes in some cases and the planned felling of over 300 trees are the focus of criticism. A planned parking pallet for 540 cars (originally 650) at the Cologne-Bonn motorway junction has long been rejected by around 20 civic associations and initiatives in the south of Cologne.

Disasters and incidents

The collapsed building with the neighboring house

During the construction of the north-south light rail, numerous buildings were damaged. Most famous in 2004 was the incline of the church tower of St. Johann Baptist . In 2007 the town hall tower of the historical town hall was lowered by seven millimeters, so that the tower cellar, in which cracks appeared, was closed for weddings for security reasons. According to the KVB, these subsidence would have been “within the normal range”. In March 2009 there was damage to a round arch and the vaulted ceiling in the Romanesque church of St. Maria im Kapitol . A coordinator of the TÜV confirmed in 2009 that around 60 percent of all examined houses had been damaged by the underground construction, but these are not dangerous and the buildings can be used without restrictions.

When the historical archive collapsed on March 3, 2009, caused by water ingress as a result of construction errors and a hole in a diaphragm wall connected with it, two people died who had been in the neighboring buildings, which were also destroyed.

→ Main article : Historical archive of the city of Cologne

Incidents during construction with minor effects included, for example, the damage to a gas line at Kurt-Hackenberg-Platz by an excavator, so that the electricity had to be switched off for four hours in large parts of the city center.

At the beginning of 2013, regular operation in the nearby section of Cologne Cathedral resulted in "vibrations and minimal sound transmission" in Cologne Cathedral. After a temporary speed limit for the railways, rubber dampers (" Kölner Ei ") were installed in December 2013 .

Effects on the previous existing network

Route from Chlodwigplatz to Marienburg Südpark (line 6)

Closed route Chlodwigplatz - Marienburg Südpark (line 6)
Chlodwigplatz (left: old street, right: new street) Rolandstrasse Bonntor Koblenzer Straße branch to the former depot Tacitus Street Goltsteinstrasse / Belt Marienburger Strasse Marienburg South Park

The tram route on line 6 from Chlodwigplatz to Marienburg Südpark was shut down on August 30, 2002 as part of the construction work on Bonner Strasse. Most recently she was only served from Monday to Friday. The northern part from Chlodwigplatz to Bonntor will be replaced by the north-south light rail, the southern part will be served by buses on line 106.

Web links

Commons : North-South light rail  - collection of images

• Official website
• Collapse of the city archive: Status report, Waidmarkt track change, status: February 2011

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.nord-sued-stadtbahn.de/projekt/index.html
2. ↑ ^{a b} Cologne subway will not run before 2028. Ailing building cover. In: Kölnische Rundschau. M. DuMont Schauberg Expedition of the Kölnische Zeitung GmbH & Co. KG, February 27, 2020, archived from the original on February 28, 2020 ; accessed on February 28, 2020 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Renovation work on the bridge on Waidmarkt. In: KVB press releases. Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG, February 27, 2020, accessed on February 27, 2020 (Note: Archive link could not be created at the time of access. No URL to the PDF file visible.). 
4. ↑ c-walther.de ( Memento of the original dated February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) 
5. ↑ Peter Berge: KVB loses building supervision. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. DuMont Net GmbH & Co. KG, April 16, 2009, accessed on December 29, 2017 . 
6. ↑ Manfred Reinnarth: Divers find a thick stone and a gap. In: Kölnische Rundschau. M. DuMont Schauberg Expedition of the Kölnische Zeitung GmbH & Co. KG, June 13, 2016, accessed on December 29, 2017 . 
7. ^ Inge Schürmann: Higher costs on the Waidmarkt. City of Cologne - Office for Press and Public Relations, June 10, 2016, archived from the original ; accessed on December 29, 2017 . 
8. ↑ http://www.rundschau-online.de/koeln/stadtbahn-am-waidmarkt-baugrube-voll-beweismaterial,15185496,30046338.html
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Information on the dates for a possible partial commissioning of the north-south light rail in Cologne ( memento of the original from July 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ Brochure North-South Stadtbahn Cologne, surface work at the Heumarkt stop, page 8
11. ↑ Andreas Damm: Line 17 finally goes into operation. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. DuMont Net GmbH & Co. KG, November 27, 2015, accessed on December 29, 2017 . 
12. ↑ Information on the planned P + R facility (last page there) on the website of the City of Cologne -Verkehr- (PDF) [1] (PDF; 5.0 MiB)
13. ↑ Council Decision 3105/2006 North-South rail (third construction phase) from Schönhauser road to the roundabout in Cologne-Marienburg on 29 January 2008
14. ↑ Information about the north-south tram on the website of the city of Cologne -Verkehr- [2]
15. ↑ Third construction stage of the north-south light rail
16. ↑ With a well-founded decision dated December 23, 2016, Az. 20 B 710 / 16.AK, the Higher Administrative Court for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia rejected the applications for the restoration of the suspensive effect of two pending lawsuits against the planning approval decision, see p. the decision ; the main proceedings are still ongoing.
17. ↑ North-South Stadtbahn Cologne. Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG, corporate communications, archived from the original ; accessed on December 29, 2017 . 
18. ↑ Application to the Rodenkirchen District Representation for the routing of the north-south light rail. Retrieved March 22, 2016 . 
19. ↑ http://www.ksta.de/koeln/rodenkirchen/von-rondorf-nach-meschenich-diskussion-um-trassenfuehrungen-der-nord-sued-stadtbahn-26911232
20. ↑ Graphic on the variants (presumably from the city of Cologne?) ; published by the newspaper Kölnische Rundschau in the article 65 million linked below - expansion of the tram to Meschenich can hope for funding from April 5, 2018, access: April 25, 2018, PDF
21. ↑ 65 million - expansion of the tram to Meschenich can hope for funding . In: Kölnische Rundschau from April 5, 2018.
22. ↑ Report from the newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger from September 16, 2018: Until Rondorf and Meschenich - local politicians are discussing the extension of line 5 .
23. ↑ Chronicle. (No longer available online.) In: nord-sued-stadtbahn.de. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009 ; Retrieved March 3, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
24. ^ Announcement Cologne: Construction contract for north-south tunnel awarded . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International , issue 2/2004, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 53.
25. ↑ http://www.ksta.de/archiv/tosca--rosa-und-carmen-ausgewaehlt,16592382,13676106.html
26. ↑ http://www.kvb-koeln.de/downloadRepository/koeln_takt_10_07.pdf
27. ↑ Brochure North-South Stadtbahn Cologne, surface work at the Heumarkt stop, page 8
28. ↑ http://www.nord-sued-stadtbahn.de/pressemitteilungen/view.html?action=shownews&page=&id=845
29. ↑ http://www.ksta.de/innenstadt/-heumarkt-u-bahn-station-feierlich-eroeffnet,15187556,25622812.html
30. ↑ Report from the newspaper Kölnische Rundschau from May 23, 2018: City archive, tram can be renovated - expert wants to leave Waidmarkt
31. ↑ Manfred Reinnarth: Collapse of the Cologne City Archives: Experts have to dig deeper at the Waidmarkt. Kölnische Rundschau, September 29, 2018, accessed on March 2, 2019 (German). 
32. ^ Inge Schürmann: Ten years after the collapse of the historical archive. City of Cologne - Office for Press and Public Relations, February 22, 2019, accessed on March 2, 2019 . 
33. ↑ Alexander Menden: Agreement in Cologne. Retrieved July 7, 2020 . 
34. ↑ The route network after the north-south light rail went into operation ( memento of the original from August 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the official project page 
35. ^ Line network 2010 ( Memento of January 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) from the official project website
36. ↑ According to Matthias Pesch: The north-south railway should start rolling in mid-2016 . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , May 2, 2013, accessed on June 1, 2013.
37. ↑ According to Andreas Damm: decision on light rail only in 2013 . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , September 19, 2012, accessed on June 1, 2013.
38. ↑ Ratsdrucksache 3680/2010: "Early partial commissioning of the north-south light rail"
39. ↑ Peter Berger: Council tower gives way due to underground construction. In: ksta.de. August 9, 2007, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
40. ↑ Simon Müller: Cologne subway construction Every second house is damaged. In: ksta.de. April 16, 2009, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
41. ↑ Thorsten Moeck: Gas alarm paralyzes downtown Cologne. In: ksta.de. August 16, 2007, accessed December 2, 2018 . 
42. ↑ DPA-RegiolineCities: Monuments: “Vibrations” in Cologne Cathedral since an underground station opened. In: Focus Online . January 9, 2013, accessed October 14, 2018 . 
43. ↑ http://www.rundschau-online.de/koeln/-vibrationenspezialdaempferaufdomstreckeeingebaut,15185496,25122768.html

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