Technical specifications

Scope of work: Construction of light railway station Gateway Gardens  including 2.2 km light railway tunnel
Construction method: Cut and cover method
Geology:  Soft rock sections, Quartenary sedimentary rocks, cohesive Tertiary layers
Utilisation   Infrastructure
Type    Railway tunnel, double-track
Length    2,200 m
Construction Method   Cut and cover method 

More information:

Relief for the roads and the environment: After a construction period of only three years, the four-kilometer-long light railway connection of the new Gateway Gardens district at Frankfurt Airport went into operation on time. It connects the commercial area Gateway Gardens to Frankfurt’s main railway station in less than ten minutes.

Central location and optimal transport connections are two characteristics that characterise the new Gateway Gardens quarter in Frankfurt am Main, as it is located at one of the most important transport hubs in Europe. The new quarter with office buildings, hotel, congress centre and retail shops is being created on the site of the former American residential estate Gateway Gardens, in the immediate vicinity of Frankfurt Airport.

Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau, Central Division, constructed the heart of the railway line with an approximately 2 km long double-track tunnel. The A5 Frankfurt - Darmstadt motorway and the entire Gateway Gardens area were undercut.

The tunnel was constructed in cut and cover method. The tunnel has a cross-section of approximately 11 m width and 6 m height. For the construction about 900,000 m³ of earth were moved and 180,000 m³ of concrete were used.

According to forecasts, around 13,000 trips a day will be shifted from car to rail thanks to the new rail link. The adjacent road network is expected to be relieved by around 27 percent.

• Construction site QuickCheck
• Reko boards in construction sections
• Analog communications cascade with process confirmation, regulation of escalation responsibilities and key figure control
• Activity analyses to optimize the construction process
• 5 S on the construction site
• Creation of a regular cycle for the construction of tunnel sections, with work instructions and CIP protocol
• Training sessions for staff on the project