Billions Upon Billions for Berlin-Munich Bullet Train

[xchrom]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,794125,00.html


The new rail route being built between Berlin and Munich is nothing if not ambitious -- as well as being the most expensive transportation project to take shape since reunification. But the line is yet another example of how France beats Germany in the high-speed rail game and critics say its costs may not justify the advantages it will bring.



Silberberg (Silver Mountain) is a flashy name for a natural formation standing in the way. Getting rid of the mass of rock is out of the question. In fact, it's hard enough just digging a tunnel through it.

Miners are currently boring their way through the Silberberg, in the mountainous Thuringian Forest region of central Germany, using explosives and hydraulic excavators and a technique called the "New Austrian Tunneling Method." The air is full of the sharp odor of an ammonia compound contained in the explosives.

A wheel loader quickly gathers up the rubble. The driver is wearing a white mask over his mouth.

Once completed, the Silberberg tunnel will stretch more than 7 kilometers (4.4 miles), making it one of the longest tunnels on the new railway line between Erfurt, in eastern German state of Thuringia, and Ebensfeld, in the Bavarian region of Upper Franconia. When the route is finished, it will be capable of accommodating ICE trains traveling at 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph). Each day, the construction project advances an average of 6.5 meters (21.3 feet).

Of the total distance of 107 kilometers on the Erfurt-Ebensfeld route, 41 kilometers will pass through tunnels and 12 kilometers over bridges. Experts refer to tunnels and bridges as "engineering structures," and they will be more highly concentrated on the new route than in almost any other segment of the German rail system.

[dtexdem]

1. Efficient transit, rather than spewing pollution from jet engines ...

or from auto engines on an autobahn.