Study of a high-speed express transport system

The study on a high -speed express transport system (short form high-speed express train study [abbr. HSB ]; partly also study on a high-speed transport system ; initially, as a working title, also referred to as a study on the automobile railroad ) is a study carried out between 1969 and the end of 1971 on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport Developed study on the introduction of a high-speed rail system in Germany. She is considered one of the essential foundations of today's railway - high-speed traffic in the Federal Republic.

history

In the 1960s , road traffic in the Federal Republic of Germany increased sharply. In 1964, the economic damage from traffic jams and accidents amounted to around 12 billion Deutschmarks . Rail traffic was largely characterized by qualitative and capacitive bottlenecks, which were not expected to result in significant shifts in the modal split in favor of rail. Against the background of rising incomes, increasing leisure trips, the concentration on metropolitan areas and increasing goods production, significantly increasing traffic loads were expected. It was not until 1985 that forecasts anticipated a saturation of vehicle demand. The requirement plan for the federal trunk roads provided for investments of 150 billion D-Marks in the federal trunk road network from 1970 to 1985. Despite the high investment of funds, it was not expected that the expansion of the road infrastructure would take full account of the increasing traffic flows. The project is largely due to the strong economic growth in the 1960s.

Against this background, the Federal Ministry of Transport commissioned a preliminary study in the late 1960s. This was based on the idea of a double-track high-speed high-speed railway between Munich and Hamburg, which should have additional access points in Hanover, Dortmund, Cologne, Frankfurt, Mannheim and Stuttgart. Initially, only truck transport was examined. 84 percent of the volume of traffic for the express train was to come from the road and 16 percent from the railroad. The original idea was to relieve the network of the federal motorways with parallel new construction lines in which motor vehicles were to be transported using the roll-on-roll-off method.

The actual high-performance express train study, which was commissioned by Federal Transport Minister Georg Leber on August 1, 1969 , was based on this. The contractor was the high-performance Schnellbahn Studiengesellschaft mbH , which was made up of the partners Deutsche Bundesbahn , Strabag Bau-AG , and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm . Götz Heidelberg was the project manager .

The company, initially referred to as the Autoschienenbahn Studien- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (ASB), was founded in 1968 by the Federal Railroad and Strabag. It was later renamed the Hochleistungs-Schnellbahn Studiengesellschaft (HSB).

In 29 months of processing time, 145,000 working hours were used and EDP systems were used for around 100 hours. Subcontracts to industry and research were awarded to the value of 1.1 million D-Marks.

The study comprises a 101-page main volume and five sub-volumes and was completed on schedule at the end of 1971 and handed over to the Federal Minister of Transport on December 22, 1971. At the end of 1972 an 87-page short report was published.

Research assignment

The main aim of the study was to examine the extent to which the road network could be relieved by shifting traffic to a lane-guided mode of transport. A high-speed express train was supposed to connect northern and southern Germany with each other at high speed. Whether and in what way such a route could also be used by conventional railroad trains was initially open and was also investigated.

The study was based on a broad research assignment. A transport system of the future should be developed taking into account all conceivable technologies. The concept was not to replace existing transport systems, but to supplement them where they would reach their performance and capacity limits. The envisaged high- speed high- speed railway should have less the character of an area transport, but rather that of a main thoroughfare. In freight transport, trucks and containers should be transported piggyback. Car was also considered in passenger transport.

Based on the requirements for a high- speed express traffic system , basic assumptions were derived. Building on this, eleven different areas were examined in detail, and solutions developed and optimized. In the end, the economic success of the various solutions was assessed using a cost-benefit analysis in several intermediate steps . For some model configurations, business considerations were also used.

As part of the study, numerous technical solutions were also examined, including magnetic levitation and air-cushion technology as well as conventional rail systems with a gauge that deviates from the standard gauge , sometimes with more than two rails. The design of the route as well as the operational sequence and the operating facilities were among the other essential topics. The advantages of the road traffic system (good distribution options, precision and safety of the transport process) should be combined with a high operating speed. With the high-speed railway , the existing traffic systems should be relieved and freed of components that limited their performance.

Results

Based on the basic assumptions and requirements for a new traffic system, a track-guided transport system was developed for the transportation of people and motor vehicles at high speed on its own, independent routes. There should be a connection to existing traffic systems, in particular by transporting trucks and cars in closed wagons, whereby special train stations should be created with entry and exit options.

The study expected significantly improved traffic conditions between northern and southern Germany after the commissioning of such a high- speed railway . Economy, travel time, transport options, driving comfort and environmental pollution should also improve significantly. In 1985 about 30 percent of the total German truck volume (in tonne-kilometers ) was supposed to migrate to the high-speed railway, corresponding to about 11 million truck kilometers per day. In passenger traffic, depending on the speed of the new traffic system, the roads should be relieved by 8 to 15 million passenger kilometers per day. The transport of people and vehicles should cover costs.

An 886 km long line (so-called C line ) from Hamburg via Bremen, Bielefeld / Osnabrück, Dortmund, Cologne, Frankfurt, Mannheim and Stuttgart to Munich was identified as the most economical route. A separate train station was provided for each of these conurbations. At a later date, the network was to be supplemented by a 772 km long "big 8" with an intersection in Frankfurt.

Three alternatives have been proposed for this traffic:

Common trains for people, cars and trucks with a speed of 275 to 375 km / h
Fast but separate trains for people and vehicles
A fast route for passenger traffic and, parallel to this, a route designed for lower speeds for cars and trucks. While a magnetic train with a maximum speed of 500 km / h was proposed for pure passenger traffic, the wheel / rail system was 275 km / h thought possible.

The study did not envisage a rapid transit railway for pure passenger transport (without car transport).

criticism

Critics complained that the route would have run counter to the basic idea of spatial planning policy, which provided for an adequate supply of transport infrastructure and appropriate transport services for all sub-areas of the federal territory. The realization of the HSB would have further increased the existing and growing disparities in this area.

The assumption of unlimited economic growth on which the study was based was also criticized in the 1970s.

It was also criticized that essential aspects were not taken into account in the study: efficiency reserves of the existing rail network, new competition from large aircraft (Airbus) and the numerous modifications to the road network that were necessary to implement the proposals. The HSB cannot be viewed in isolation without considering the European framework.

Effects

The HSB's considerations led to a network of new and upgraded routes, which was included in the first federal transport infrastructure plan in 1973 .

The high-speed lines Hanover – Würzburg (construction started in 1973) and Mannheim – Stuttgart (construction started in 1976) were immediately implemented . The two routes opened between 1979 and 1991 marked the beginning of high-speed rail traffic in Germany. At the same time, the routes enabled fast freight trains to make the night jump between northern and southern Germany.

While the plans for the first new lines originally envisaged the transport of truck trailers in closed railroad cars, in line with the proposals of the high-speed rapid transit study, these plans were discarded in 1975 after studies had shown that the additional costs were around ten percent for a large clearance profile there were no sufficiently large additional yields from the piggyback express traffic. Ultimately, this resulted in conventional railway lines that were designed for the speed range between 250 and 300 km / h in terms of planning and technology and paved the way for the use of the Intercity Express .

literature

Heinz D. Neuber (Ed.): Study on a rapid transit system. System analysis and results , High-Performance Schnellbahn-Studiengesellschaft, Ottobrunn, 1971.