Until recently, the U5 line ended in a four-track railway tunnel parallel with Jüdenstrasse and the Rotes Rathaus, used as a stabling and turning area. The new “Rotes Rathaus” station is connected directly to this tunnel.

A PORR joint project from construction pit to completed U-Bahn station

PORR’s contribution to the “U5 Gap closure” project involved renovating a section of four-track tunnel and completing the “Rotes Rathaus” U-Bahn station. PORR has been at work here since 2013, when we were commissioned by Berlin’s main public transport company, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, or BVG, to build the construction pit, create the link to the century-old existing infrastructure, and construct the carcass what would become the “Rotes Rathaus” station. This work complete, in April 2016 PORR was awarded the follow-on contract for general renovation of the four-track U-Bahn tunnel beneath Rathausstrasse; in February 2017 PORR also won the next contract, to complete the three-storey “Rotes Rathaus” U-Bahn station.

The particular challenges in this project were the high groundwater level in the construction area, and the complex city centre logistics.

Trial runs began in mid-September. The inauguration itself, appropriately enough, is being held on the day of St. Barbara, patron saint of miners and tunnellers. The “U5 Gap Closure” project establishes better connections into the historic heart of Berlin. Travellers will now be able to access landmarks such as the famous Nikolaiviertel, Museumsinsel Berlin and the Berlin Cathedral directly by U-Bahn.