Magdeburg

Railway overpass at Ernst Reuter Allee

Project subject to inner-city constraints

New transport routes beneath the railway tracks

Some of the railway bridges at Magdeburg Central Station dated back to the 19th century and were due to be refurbished or replaced. As part of this work, the transport area beneath the tracks was also redesigned. A two-storey frame structure now separates tram and road traffic. On the lower level, motorised traffic between Damaschkeplatz and City-Carré is channelled through two separate tunnel tubes. The level above is reserved for trams, pedestrians as well as cyclists. The City Tunnel thus connects different modes of transport across several levels and forms a central component of the Ernst-Reuter-Allee railway viaduct.

Tunnelling in the centre of Magdeburg

The two tunnel tubes are 353 m and 323 m long respectively, 8.50 m wide and have a clear height of at least 4.50 m. Due to the high water table, the tunnel structure was constructed with sealing slabs. In addition to the tunnel tubes, floor slabs, tunnel walls, trough walls and retaining walls were constructed in several construction phases. A total of around 34,500 m³ of concrete and approximately 5,000 t of steel were used. Around 48,000 m³ of soil was excavated for the tunnel. In addition, 93 floor slabs as well as 243 tunnel, trough and retaining walls were constructed. Together, these structures form the structural basis for the new traffic routing beneath the railway facilities.

Special civil engineering for shoring and foundations

The Berlin structural engineering team was responsible for the construction work. PORR Spezialtiefbau provided the shoring structures and bored piles. The specialised civil engineering works created the conditions necessary for tunnelling and the new railway bridges in the area of Magdeburg Central Station. In doing so, the foundations and shoring measures had to be coordinated with the existing track layout, transport routes and adjacent structures. For the works in the railway environment, personnel, procedures and technical equipment were deployed that are pre-qualified for operations within the railway network. The construction processes took into account the operational constraints of the existing rail infrastructure.

Building between rail, road and city

The works took place in an inner-city environment with existing rail, tram and road links. Accordingly, the individual construction phases were co-ordinated with the ongoing transport routes and the works of other trades. In addition to the civil engineering and specialised groundworks teams, a team from PORR Polska was also involved in the concrete works. In July 2022, the two tubes of the City Tunnel were completed. Step by step, a new transport corridor emerged beneath the railway tracks, as well as above ground bridges, tracks, overhead lines and signalling and safety systems were renewed.

From a historic railway junction to a new transport corridor

The Ernst-Reuter-Allee railway viaduct combines the renewal of historic railway infrastructure with the construction of new tunnel, road and tram facilities. Bridges, tracks, overhead lines, points, and signalling and safety systems were integrated with the newly designed transport corridor beneath the main station. Even before traffic could be channelled through the two tunnel tubes, the floor slabs, walls, foundations and shoring structures of the new City Tunnel were constructed deep beneath the track layout. This gave the transport hub in the centre of Magdeburg a new structural layout.