Case Study
Elasticity for the Slab Trackin the Gotthard Base Tunnel, (CH)The project of the century:
With 57 kilometres the world's
longest railway tunnel

Highest requirements:
Outstanding material properties
over the entire service life

Optimised solution, comprehensive
project support and just-in-timelogistics

Elastic Sylodyn® Insertion Pads for Sleeper
Boots in the World's longest Railway Tunnel

Description of the project
Gotthard Base Tunnel
Overall length 57 km

Altdorf

Altdorf/Rynächt
Length 4.4 km

Erstfeld
Erstfeld
Length 7.8 km

AmstegAmstegLength 11.3 kmSedrun
SedrunLength 9.2 km

Andermatt

Faido
Length 12.9 km

ArioloFaido

TUNNEL

Bodio
Length 15.9 km

OPEN LINE
Gotthard Base Tunnel
Postponed
Existing railway line

Bodio
Shaft, adit
Exploratory drills Piorasyncline

BiascaLength 7.8 km

Prestigious project with highest
requirements in terms of railway
technology
t 57 kilometres in length, theGotthard Base Tunnel is currently
the longest railway tunnel in the world.
It links the Swiss communities of Erstfeld and Bodio. The tunnel forms partof the New Railway Link through theAlps (NRLA), which is at present thelargest construction project in Switzerland. With the construction of this"project of the century", north/south
railway transit trafic will be furtherimproved, meaning that transit trafic
can be moved off the roads and onto
the railways. Moreover, travel time forpublic transport services will be signiicantly reduced – in conjunction
with the Ceneri Base Tunnel which iscurrently being constructed – (thetravel time from Zurich to Milan will be
cut by one hour), thereby considerablyincreasing the attractiveness of railway travel compared with taking thecar or plane. In future, passenger andfreight trains will pass through thetunnel at speeds of up to 250 km/h.

ASlab track with LVT system

Lines feeding into the tunnel withballast superstructure

The Gotthard Base Tunnel will be
opened in 2016 and is a model projectthat exceeds all previous dimensionsin terms of tunnel length, engineeringand logistics.

construction height compared to aballast superstructure. Of course,
great importance is also placed on
the topic of safety. For this reason,
the decision has been made to have
two separate tunnels (evacuation
concept), permitting access for emergency vehicles if necessary.

There were multiple reasons tochoose a slab track for the superstructure in the Gotthard Base Tunnel:
in terms of high availability (due tolow maintenance outlay), resilienceand longer service life, the slab track
comes out signiicantly ahead of theconventional ballast superstructure.
What is more, with a slab track thetunnel cross section can be smaller– meaning a considerable decreasein construction costs, as this formof superstructure requires a lower

In order to ensure that superstructurecomponents can be used for a longtime respectively to avoid excessive
stress, a slab track must be itted withelastic components – this compensates the lack of ballast elasticity.
For this prestigious project, the requirements in terms of railway technology were already very high:particular environmental conditions
are found in the tunnel, such as ambient temperatures of up to 40°C andhumidity as high as 70%. Moreover,strong pressure and suction forces areat work due to the high speed of thetrains. Similarly, the extremely frequent use of the track, with up to 250
trains per day, also puts the line underabove-average stress.

Pre-assembly

The solution with Getzner
Elastic insertion pads for sleeper
boots and under sleeper padsll the materials in the Gotthard
Base Tunnel and on the lines
leading to the tunnel portals must
provide outstanding performanceover their entire service life. For these
special requirements, Sonneville's
LVT (Low Vibration Track) system wasselected – one of the world's irst slab
track systems. In the case of the LVTsystem, the track is designed withsingle-block sleepers in rubber boots,with elastic Sylodyn® insertion pads
from Getzner. The unreinforced trackis laid directly on the inverted arch.
The advantages of this special type ofsuperstructure are that the individualcomponents can be replaced (no rigid
connection between the track panel

Aand the slab), the high level of track
accuracy, long service life and reliability, as well as the low maintenancecosts.
In addition, all the slab track turnouts(manufactured by voestapine-Weichensysteme GmbH) in the tunnel have been
supported elastically with Sylodyn®
material. Numerous turnouts and individual track sections with ballast superstructure on the main lines feeding
into the tunnel have also been ittedwith Getzner under sleeper pads.
Materials for the most stringent
requirements
The award of this contract to Getzner is
primarily due to the excellent material
properties, but also to the company'sConcrete
single-block

Rubber bootLVT system

Getzner elastic Sylodyn®
insertion pad for sleeper boots

Aligned track

Measurement

technical knowledge and expertise andthe LVT projects that have been demonstrably successful: this system
has already proved its worth multipletimes and is in successful use on ivecontinents, with more than 1,000 kilometres of track in total.
Even in the early stages, within theframework of project planning, thematerials were required to withstandtests with high permanent load andalso artiicial ageing tests. "Our products in slab track systems have now
been proving their worth for over 25years – this is not only conirmed by
the test results, but also by multiple
well-known references and measurements on actual tracks", explains
Helmut Bertsch, Project Manager atGetzner Werkstoffe. Getzner calculated the optimum choice of materials
and the extent of rail delection of
the turnouts using its own "inite
element calculation".
Sylodyn®, the material used, is a
closed cellular elastomer that only hasvery low dynamic stiffening, even in
the high frequency range. Getzner
materials have now been successfully
used in railway superstructures formore than 40 years – as shown by
numerous long-term references.

Slab track turnout

Increase of track stability
and service life

Engineering at voestalpine-Weichensysteme GmbH.

High supply availability andoptimum quality

It is important that all components
fulil the most stringent requirements,
particularly in case of the high-speed
turnouts in the tunnel: Various typesof highly-elastic Sylodyn® inserts ensure even delection as the train passes over, along the entire length of theturnout and in the transition area
between the straight line and theturnout.

A conventional ballast superstructurewith padded monoblock sleepers andbearers has been installed on the lines
feeding in to the tunnel portals. The
Getzner under sleeper pads are used
to protect the ballast and extend thetamping intervals required, as well as
the service life of the superstructure.
The special elastoplastic material
properties of the under sleeper pads
result in the ballast embedding into
the padding, thereby increasing thecontact surface and reducing thestress on the ballast. This property
has a proven positive effect on trackstability and the service life of thesuperstructure. Moreover, the dynamic delection properties of the turnouts when a train traverses them havebeen optimised with the aid of inhouse "inite element calculations".

Even if we consider only the particular requirements in terms of quality
and logistics, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is an extraordinary project:"Getzner had to ensure high supply
availability for the whole duration of
the project, and guarantee a consistent extremely high level of quality –for the entire period of use", explainsAnabel Hengelmann, the Chief Executive Oficer of Sonneville AG. Getzner
not only provides clients with individual support, but also offers attractive,
professional project support – frommaterial selection and detailed installation plans to tailor made just-in-time
deliveries. This project was no different in this respect, being supported
by highly-qualiied Getzner employees
from the areas of systems development, product management, application technology, quality assurance
and production.

"High-speed turnouts were developed
especially for this project, based on
the latest technology. The high requirements placed on the materials
and in terms of execution represent a
major challenge for all manufacturers. Getzner Werkstoffe convinced us
with their high-quality materials andexcellent international references",
explains Erich Wipfler, Director ofKey data for the Gotthard Base Tunnel
Client:Operator:
Builder:Track engineering:Elastic components:
Slab track system:
Planned opening:
Construction time forrailway engineering:
Length:Getzner products:

Products installed
Tunnel:Products installed
Feeder track:

Project support:

ARGE Transtec Gotthard
Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB)[Swiss Federal Railways]
AlpTransit Gotthard AG
AFTTG
Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH, Bürs
Low Vibration Track (LVT) fromSonneville AG, Vigier-Rail2016
2009 – 2016
114 km – 2 tunnels measuring 57 km each
Elastic Sylodyn® insertion pads for sleeper
boots, pads for sleepers and bearers forslab track and ballast superstructure,under ballast mats
Elastic Sylodyn® insertion pads for sleeperboots:– 390,000 pcs. for the LVT standard system– 4,000 pcs. for the LVT high attenuation
system– for 10 slab track turnouts manufactured byvoestalpine-Weichensysteme GmbH
Under sleeper pads for:– 33 pcs. ballast superstructure turnouts– 30,000 pcs. B91 sleepers
More than 5,000 m2 of under ballast matsModel and forecast calculations using inite
element calculation, installation plans,quality assurance

Photo credits: AlpTransit Gotthard AG, Getzner WerkstoffeTurnout tunnel portal

Facts and igures at a glance
Getzner Werkstoffe GmbHFoundation:
Chief Executive Oficer:
Employees:
2015 turnover:Business areas:
Headquarter:
Locations:

Ratio of exports:

1969 (as a subsidiary of Getzner, Mutter & Cie)Ing. Jürgen Rainalter340
EUR 77.9 million
Railway, construction, industry
Bürs (AT)
Berlin (DE), Munich (DE), Stuttgart (DE),
Lyon (FR), Amman (JO), Tokyo (JP),Pune (IN), Beijing (CN), Kunshan (CN),Charlotte (US)85 %— Lötschberg Tunnel (CH)
— Weinberg Tunnel (CH)— East London Line (GB)— City Tunnel Malmö (SE)— La Sagrera (ES)— Marmaray Tunnel (TR)— Moscow Metro (RU)
— Gautrain Johannesburg –Pretoria (ZA)
— SAS Second Avenue Subway (US)— Nangang Extension (TW)

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

JORDAN — Amman
www.getzner.com

CS GT en © Copyright by Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH | 07-2016

LVT references (extract)