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In the area of railway crossings, special concrete sleepers were installed using an excavator. © Georg Dickkopf
A derailed freight train destroyed almost all the concrete sleepers over a four-kilometer area. On Thursday, a 700-metre track construction train caused a huge cloud of dust while replacing ballast.
Plettenberg – The Ruhr-Sieg route between Plettenberg and Finnentrop has been completely closed since Saturday last week. There are buses to replace the rails. Work is in full swing on the Verdol-Bauklo-Eyringhausen section, which was seriously damaged as a result of the train crash. A section of track that had new sleepers just a few years ago has to be completely renovated in the direction of Hagen after a freight train derailed and damaged almost all the concrete sleepers along a good four kilometer long section, even leading to an accident in the tunnel area (we reported). The repairs were quickly “integrated” into the already planned modernization and reconstruction work on the Ruhr-Sieg line between Plettenberg and Finnentrop.
A track train approximately 700 meters long will also be used. Thanks to this special working composition, consisting of various machines and cars, rails, sleepers and ballast can be replaced in one large operation.
View of the section of the track construction train up to 700 meters long at the entrance to Ole. © Georg Dickkopf
Since the statics of the bridge in front of the Baulo Tunnel did not allow a huge track construction train to pass over it, sleepers, each weighing about 250 kilograms, were used there with a multi-purpose excavator capable of moving both on road and on rails. In the area of the railway crossing leading to Hilfringhausen, special sleepers were used because they are covered with rubber sheets and must be particularly load-bearing. On Thursday, a track construction train was located behind the Oehler-Aldi market and, while replacing track ballast, caused a huge cloud of dust that spread throughout the valley.
A track construction train caused a huge accumulation of dust during ballast replacement at Ola on Thursday. © Peter Welkerling
Deutsche Bahn, together with its infrastructure company DB InfraGO, is investing more than 150 million euros in the modernization of the Hagen-Siegen route. Between Plettenberg and Finnentrop and other areas, tracks, switches, bridges and overhead lines are being replaced. The goal of these measures is to make infrastructure more efficient and less disruptive in the long term. In total, the construction program includes more than 100 separate events along the route.
However, the work entails significant restrictions for passengers. There are repeated route closures, train cancellations and bus replacements. The regional train RB 91 and the regional express RE 34 are particularly affected. A temporary complete closure is necessary on the section between Plettenberg and Finnentrop so that construction work can be concentrated and carried out as efficiently as possible.
According to the railway, the measures are designed to create the basis for reliable rail transport in the coming years. In addition to updating about 23 kilometers of tracks and more than 40 switches, bridges will also be modernized and additional noise protection measures will be implemented.