Case Study
Berlin to Cottbus Line

Eficient vibration protection for
adjacent buildings with an increasein train speeds

Specially developed polyurethane tie
pad with effective acoustic damping

World’s largest railway project using
tie pads for vibration protection

Berlin-Cottbus

Description of the project

The Getzner Solution

Development of the Berlin-Cottbus
railway line

Padded railway tie as protection against
vibrations

Product development in close
cooperation

n 2010 Deutsche Bahn (DB) up-graded
the heavily used railway line between
Berlin and Cottbus, which lies in the countyof Brandenburg. Following the southerly
section of the Berlin-Cottbus line, themiddle section of the route was also upgraded to allow trains to run on it at higherspeeds. The entire railway track structures
were replaced along a 37.3 mi long section
between the spring and autumn of 2010.
The challenge facing us in this project was
to provide buildings in close proximity tothe track with eficient protection against
vibrations, despite the increased velocity
which had been planned.

Getzner worked closely with DB to developa special polyurethane tie pad witheffective acoustic damping for the BerlinCottbus line. The pad was designed within
the scope of the research project “Quiettrain on real track” (LZarG) which wasaimed at developing new technologies forlower-noise railway trafic. The PUR matsdampen the vibrations of trains as they
pass through built-up areas.

Getzner developed the new sleeper pad
which was designed to suit the BerlinCottbus line in close cooperation with DB‘s
Technology and Acoustics Department in
the course of the LZarG research project.
The solution reached production stageand ultimately received approval by DBTechnology.

I

What is more, in order to keep thisextensive project on budget and onschedule, the complete track structure
could not be removed. Since the completion of the construction work, thetrack which was previously designed toaccommodate a top speed of 75 mph can
now be used by trains travelling at speedsof up to 100 mph and at greater frequency,
without causing additional structuralstress due to vibrations or noise.

The new pad has been specially tailored tomeet the requirements of these projects.
“DB already had good experience ofworking with us before we embarked uponthis major project. Faith in our expertiseand in our ability to deliver the rightproduct were key to securing the order. Sofar, Berlin-Cottbus has been the biggest
railway project of its kind in the world involving the use of sleeper pads to protect
against vibrations. All in all, some 52,000
ties and 17 turnouts were itted with pads
made from our material,” pointed out
Sascha Reuter, project manager of the Rail
Division at Getzner‘s plant in Grünwald
near Munich, emphasising the signiicanceof this major project. By using sleeper
pads, specialists were able to integrate thevibration protection without completely
removing the track structure.

While the R&D work was in process,Getzner had the product tested at theTechnical University of Munich. Those
tests have conirmed the high quality anddurability of the product. “We conducted arigorous series of tests in a very shorttime. We now have a well-engineered,highly resilient product in use. In addition,compared to conventional solutions,Feedbackthe tie pads also boast longevity on
account of the improved way in which they
are connected,” said Sascha Reuter,summing up the special features of themajor order.
Just-in-time logistics
Reuter described how “this orderpresented a big challenge for project
management, quality management,
production and logistics – around30 people worked on its successfulimplementation.” Finally he stated that
“Volumes of this great magnitude createhigh demands: Not only did we manage
to coordinate the internal processes
excellently, we were also able to coordinate
the timing of the manufacturing of the ties
and pads with our customers on site togreat effect. By virtue of its sheer scale,this project provided us with valuableexperience, which will beneit ourclients in future projects.”
Given the high production capacity
utilization, the new elastic layer for the ties
was produced at the Getzner plant in Bürs
under great time pressure and under themost stringent quality controls. Liaisingclosely with the company that
manufactures the ties, Getzner delivered
over 50,000 pads to Frankfurt and to
Neumarkt in Oberpfalz between June and
September 2011. They were then afixed tothe ties at Rail.One‘s two plants. As thisthen meant that ties could be delivered tothe track with the pads already inplace, which made installation quick andstraightforward.

GermanyDeutschland“The cooperation with the Getzner teamwas exemplary. The quality of the pads forthe ties was consistently high and enabled
us to afix them to our concrete ties
without any trouble. Deliveries wereexcellently coordinated: they arrived ontime and in the agreed volume.”

Gundolf Spitzner,
Head of European Sales,RAIL.ONE GmbH

PolandPolen

BerlinGetzner created pads for
50,000 tie along a section ofover 37.3 mi between Königs
Wusterhausen and Lübbenau.

Brandenburg
Königs
Wusterhausen

LübbenauCottbus
Leipzig
Dresden

50 km

What does the tie manufacturer
have to say about the project?

TschechischeCzech
republic
Republik

Facts and igures at a glance
Berlin-Cottbus line
Long upgrade section between Königs Wusterhausen and Lübbenau:
Target speed:

around 37.3 miup to 100 mph

Order details
Scope of the order:
Client:Project manager:
Completion:
Sleeper manufacturer:
Construction company:

Pads for around 50,000 ties and 17 turnouts
Deutsche Bahn AG
Betriebswirt (VWA) Sascha Reuter
Autumn 2011
RAIL.ONE GmbH
Eiffage Rail GmbH

Data and facts regarding Getzner Werkstoffe GmbHManaging Director:
Employees:
2012 turnover:Business areas:
2012 output:
2012 recycling:
Locations:

Ratio of exports:

1969 (as a subsidiary of Getzner,Mutter & Cie)Ing. Jürgen Rainalter
215 in Bürs, 85 abroad$ 79.3 Mio.
Railway, construction, industry
6488 Tons of technical PU materials
41 Tons of residual PU materials
Bürs (AT), Munich (DE), Berlin (DE),Amman (JO), Tokyo (JP), Pune (IN),
Beijing (CN), Kunshan (CN), Charlotte (US)80 percent

AUSTRIA — Bürs GERMANY — Berlin — Munich FRANCE — Lyon
INDIA — Pune CHINA — Beijing USA — Charlotte

JORDAN — Amman

Rail references (Extract)— Brynsbacken (NO)— Metro Seoul (KR)— Metro Amsterdam, Eastern Line (NL)
— Bruchsal Tunnel (DE)— Matstetten-Rothrist (CH)— Umegaoka-Odakyu Electric Railway (JP)— Britomart Station (NZ)
— Northern approach line to the Brenner
Base Tunnel (AT)JAPAN — Tokyo
www.getzner.com

CS BC US en © Copyright by Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH | 01-2014

Foundation: