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  • Brenner Base Tunnel

  • Discussion about railroad topics everywhere outside of Canada and the United States.
Discussion about railroad topics everywhere outside of Canada and the United States.

Moderators: Komachi, David Benton

 #421073  by bellstbarn
 
Recent news about the funding for the Brenner Base Tunnel led me to this informative site, but I cannot interpret the gradients. They are obviously expressed differently from U.S. usage. Would somebody scroll down through the page to fourth section, which includes these lines:
Average incline in the BBT will be about 8‰. This is well below the maximum incline of 12.5‰ for high-speed cross-border operations provided for in the Council Directive on TSIs (Technical Specifications for interoperability).
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Link:
http://www.bbt-se.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=30
Many thanks.
Joe McMahon

 #421196  by David Benton
 
got me beat . i know the tgv has gradients up to 1 in 28 , but have never understood the % rating used un the usa , and now apparently Europe .
i s a 1% grade a 1 in 100 grade ?

 #421208  by bellstbarn
 
It is so typical of me: Now that I have begun a topic, I search in other places for answers. One 1942 source gives this definition of U.S. gradient measurements:


43. What is railroad gradient?
The gradient, or grade, of a track is the rate of ascent or descent, the extent to which the track deviates from a level surface. A perfectly level track has a zero grade. A vertical climb of 2 feet in 100 feet of track length is known as a 2 per cent grade. Terms commonly used: Up grade, an ascending grade; Down grade, a descending grade; Grade crossing, a crossing of one railroad with another railroad or with a highway at the same level.

44. What is the maximum grade on main line track?
# Grades from 0.01 to 1.00 per cent predominate on main lines throughout the country. In mountainous territory, grades up to 2.2 per cent are sometimes necessary. Grades in excess of 2.2 per cent in main lines are uncommon.
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Source:

http://www.railwaystation.com/1942/02.html
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This is why the Brenner Pass article is so confusing to this American: an 8 percent grade?? There has got to be a difference in terminology. Could that be a climb of 8 feet in 1000, not 100?
Thanks for help. Joe

 #421345  by David Benton
 
that is possible . the common unit of measurement there would be the kilometre , i.e 1000 metres , so it could rise 8 metres in1000 metres . we would call that 1 in 125 , or virtually flat .

 #421649  by Leo Sullivan
 
David's right, simply put, european grades are by thousands so, not per cent but per mille. So, 10‰ =1%, meters feet or whatever

 #421673  by David Benton
 
I'm not sure i am .
"Average incline in the BBT will be about 8‰. This is well below the maximum incline of 12.5‰ for high-speed cross-border operations provided for in the Council Directive on TSIs (Technical Specifications for interoperability)."
thats seems too flat for a maximum gradient , as i said in a previous post , tgv can operate up to 1 in 28 , (they only slow down because there is a danger of becoming airborn at the crest of the hill !) , so 1 in 125 is way too flat for a maximum .

 #421690  by David Benton
 
my word , govt's can make comlplicated documents .
here is a pdf file of the directive , a quick skim reveals the maximum gradient allowed to be 35 in 1000 . or roughly 1 in 28 .
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/sit ... 430279.pdf

they actually specify it as 35mm per metre ( or 1000mm ) . a measurement that i guess makes alot of sense to the tracklayers . i.e if you have a staight stick 1 metre long , one end should be 35 mm higher than the other .

Re:

 #552277  by Gotthardbahn
 
David Benton wrote:that is possible . the common unit of measurement there would be the kilometre , i.e 1000 metres , so it could rise 8 metres in1000 metres . we would call that 1 in 125 , or virtually flat .
It is easy to convert gradients between the two systems:

8‰ is... 1000 : 8 = 125 ==> 1 in 125

1 in 125 is... 1000 : 125 = 8 ==> 8 ‰

The old line has a 26‰ gradient or 1 in 38.5.

However the most difficult line in Europe is maybe the Fréjus (Milan-Turin-Lyon) with 33‰ (corrected) or 1 in 30. This important line even doesn't allow the transit of high-cube containers on low floor wagons.

By the way, work started to bore intermediate access: http://www.bbt-se.com/index.php?option= ... 19&catid=3

And this one is nearly 75% bored.
 #1325389  by lpetrich
 
Drilling starts on Brenner tunnel main bore | International Railway Journal
The Austrian government also expressed concerns that Germany and Italy would not increase rail capacity on their sections of the Brenner corridor. While Italy stated that upgrading of the line north of Bolzano would start next year, there are still unresolved issues concerning the upgrading of the Munich – Kufstein line section in Germany. Planning has not even started yet for this work and there is a dispute with environmentalists concerning the future alignment around Rosenheim.
Also, Brenner Base Tunnel - Wikipedia, stating that it should be done by 2025.
According to current planning the apex of the tunnel will be at the border at an altitude of about 810 m (2,660 ft) ASL, although an apex farther south would have been lower. The placing of the apex at the border is set out in the treaty between Austria and Italy. As justification for this choice it is stated that this will allow Austrian water to run in the tunnel to Austria and Italian water to Italy. The Austrian section of the tunnel will have a gradient of 0.74% and the Italian section will have a gradient of 0.5%.
It will run between Bolzano, Italy, and Innsbruck, Austria.

Its home page: Home - BBT-SE

I find from it that the tunnel will cross the Periadriatic Seam - Wikipedia, a fault zone that is a tectonic-plate boundary between the European/Eurasian and Adriatic/Apulian tectonic plates. Construction progress - BBT-SE states that "During the crossing of the Periadriatic seam, excavation work will require the greatest of care."

I had mentioned it earlier in RAILROAD.NET • View topic - New Tunnels through the Alps

ETA: The tunnel will be about 55 km (34 mi) long, and will have two single-track bores with an access tunnel between them. It will be electrified with a top speed of 250 km/h.
 #1348786  by Gotthardbahn
 
It will link up with the existing Inntal tunnel ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innsbruck_bypass" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ), making a complex tunnel system with 4 portals and 3 possible routings: Inntal tunnel alone, Brenner basis alone, part of the Inntal+part of the Brenner. This latter would give 64 km underground, or 40 miles.
 #1584435  by lpetrich
 
Governors protest latest delay to Brenner Base Tunnel construction | International Railway Journal - "The latest delay to the construction of the Brenner Base Tunnel linking Austria with Italy means the tunnel will now open in 2032."

This is due to difficulties with one of the construction contracts in it. Some other contracts have yet to be let though there is progress on them. Progress so far:
  • Total: 140 of 230 km
  • Railway: 48 of 120 km -- mid-2029
  • Exploratory: 52 of 61 km -- early 2023
  • Others: 40 of 49 km -- mid-2024
The main tunnels are the most difficult ones, as one might expect, and the access ones are nearly done.