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Freight trains with semi-trailers of four meters corner height are also set to reach Basel via France in the future. The goal is to shift additional freight transport from road to rail. The federal government has therefore tasked SBB with adapting the profile of the Basel St. Johann–Basel SBB route. The project dossier will be publicly available in Basel from May 8, 2024, for 30 days.
(Basel) In June 2020, Parliament instructed the Federal Council to conclude the relevant state contracts. The aim is to shift additional freight transport from road to rail. The disruption of the route in 2017 in German Rastatt has also demonstrated how valuable it is for the economy to have multiple efficient routes available on important transport corridors.
Profile adjustment of the Alsace Railway will be publicly available in May
The federal government has therefore commissioned SBB to adapt the profile of the section between Basel SBB station and the national border with France for the higher freight trains. A further important milestone for this 114-million-franc project is now approaching: The project dossier will be publicly accessible in Basel from May 8 for 30 days. The public display is part of the approval process according to the Railway Act, known as the planning approval procedure.
Work is scheduled to start in the second half of 2025, with completion expected by the end of 2029. When the higher freight cars can operate regularly on the specified section will also depend on the completion of construction measures on the French side.
The railway connection with France is being expanded for rail freight transport in the heart of Basel
Track lowering in tunnels and under road overpasses
The project includes profile adjustments on the 4.2-kilometer section between the northern portal of the Kannenfeld tunnel and the Birsig. The plan is to lower the tracks in the two tunnels, Kannenfeld and Schützenmatt, and to adjust the overhead line accordingly. The same is necessary under the two road overpasses, Allschwilerstrasse and Oberwilerstrasse. The track lowering will start just before the tunnel portals and overpasses, on open track. This way, the tracks can be ramped down to the lower level in and under the structures.
Safe and reliable for the next 50 years
Everywhere there are track lowerings, the numerous utility and stream crossings running under the railway line must also be adjusted. For synergy reasons, it is also planned to renew the rails, sleepers, and ballast of the two tracks between the Kannenfeld tunnel and the Birsig bridges – even where no track lowering is required. Furthermore, SBB aims to renovate the Birsig bridges near the Basel Zoo as part of the project. The goal is for trains to safely and reliably cross the bridges for at least another 50 years.
Photo: © SBB
