Stuttgart 21

This year's focus topic ACO On Site is dedicated to one of the largest construction projects for public rail transport in urban areas: Stuttgart 21, the project for the new Stuttgart railway station.

The planning phase for the Deutsche Bahn project began around 25 years ago. With Angelika Schmid from Werner Sobek AG and Michael Rathgeb from ingenhoven associates GmbH, two experts from the major lead offices provide insight into this gigantic and very complex project in which also ACO is involved.

The Stuttgart-Ulm railway project, known as Stuttgart 21, is the largest public rail development project undertaken in Baden-Württemberg since the 19th century. It is the complete reorganization of the Stuttgart rail hub and will help to significantly reduce travel times for long-distance and regional traffic. The airport will be connected to the long-distance railroad, which will considerably relieve road traffic.

The future railway station will enable many new transfer-free connections in regional traffic and thus also relieve the public transport with its daily high passenger volume. Compared to the former terminus station, the new railway station can handle significantly more train traffic.

To be built:
- four new stations
- 57 kilometers of new rail tracks, which will travel at speeds of up to 250 km/h
- 59 kilometers of tunnels / 16 tunnels and culverts / 44 bridges

The central structure of the project is the future main station. Its roof, designed by ingenhoven architects, consists of 28 chalice supports - a concrete shell structure that has never been built before. Up to 350 tons of steel and 685 cubic meters of concrete are used for a chalice with a diameter of 32 meters. Large glass domes on 23 of the challice supports provide daylight in the platform hall. The geometry of the new underground station is complex and places enormous demands on all those involved in the design procedure.

The Stuttgart-Ulm rail project currently provides jobs for an estimated 6,000 people, for example as miners, geologists, iron benders, planners, engineers, merchants or biologists.

Stuttgart 21 is not only of great importance for Stuttgart in terms of transport, but also in terms of urban development. Stuttgart 21 offers space for two new neighborhoods in the middle of the city, 100 hectares are available for urban development, 50 hectares are planned for living and working, the park will be extended by 20 hectares and, in addition, ten hectares are planned for the construction of green spaces and public squares.

At Stuttgart 21, ACO has been commissioned to supply large floor gates for escape in addition to floor drains, lifting stations, grease separators and open-space drainage.

This order is the largest to date in the history of ACO Passavant Detego, the specialist for special manhole covers and market leader in this field. The dimensions of the products are also impressive: the floor gates measure around five by six meters and weigh more than ten tons each.

The stainless steel giants will form an important part of the station's security. In an emergency, for example in the event of a fire, they will be raised by hydraulics to clear escape routes. In addition, they can also be opened manually via a buzzer.

Organizationally and logistically, the project is a big challenge. For several years, research, preparation, and planning have been carried out for it in Mülheim-Kärlich, where the technical office and the production site for custom made covers is based. The performance specification comprises more than 100 pages, and the requirements for hydraulics and control of the heavy gates are particularly high. All the gates will be produced and installed one after the other by the end of 2023.

Jan Schmitz, Head of Sales Technical Covers at ACO Passavant Detego, reports live what exactly these covers are about and what challenges they have to face.