Munich – Over nine years after construction began on the second main line, digging is finally happening at all sites: On Monday, October 20th, Deutsche Bahn (DB) celebrated the groundbreaking for the mega-tunnel in eastern Munich. A new underground Ostbahnhof station for the second main line is set to be built where the car train terminal once stood. Once again, it was called “a milestone”—a frequently used phrase for this long-term project that was heard again yesterday.
“A Very Special Moment”: Site Manager Celebrates Groundbreaking in Eastern Munich
“It is a very special moment,” one he had been anticipating “with positive tension and excitement,” said DB site manager Kai Kruschinski. Deutsche Bahn had even set up a tent to symbolically celebrate the groundbreaking with a kind of ceremonial act. While a diesel locomotive from the Südostbayernbahn hummed nearby on track 14, speeches were held inside the tent. The general mood was positive, as things are finally moving forward.
The project had been significantly delayed due to redesigns. Initially, DB wanted to build the new underground station on the city center side near Orleansplatz. This would have caused years of disruptions to the surrounding traffic arteries, also because of the planned rescue shafts at street intersections at the time.
“Pleased to See Progress”: Major Project Includes Pedestrian Underpass
The station is now being built on the other side, on Friedenstraße. The reasoning behind the redesign, which itself is already a few years old, was that it would have provided easy S-Bahn access to the new Munich concert hall. Would have – because the plans for that cultural venue are currently on hold. But everyone involved assured that the station will be built.
“I am pleased that things are moving forward,” said Bavaria’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU), who put on a safety vest and a hard hat after the speeches and grabbed a spade. Together with Kruschinski, Heike Junge-Latz from DB InfraGO, and Frank Abel from the Hochtief/Implenia construction consortium, he then vigorously tossed sand into the air.
This isn’t just about building two tunnels and a station in the east. It is a major transport project involving tunnels, junctions, passageways, and shafts. A key part of the project, for example, is a new pedestrian underpass that will run from Friedenstraße (near Grafinger Straße) to the opposite end (Münchner Bank), thus passing underneath the entire track field of the Ostbahnhof. From the Ostbahnhof, the two tunnel tubes and a central emergency passageway will also be driven nearly three kilometers under the Isar River to Marienhof and 500 meters in the other direction to Berg am Laim. Tunnel boring machines will be used for this.
Underground Junction is the Biggest Technical Challenge
However, the planned underground junction will be the most technically challenging part, explained Markus Springer, the technical manager for the eastern project section at DB. A shell structure will be created between the Ostbahnhof and Rosenheimer Platz to allow the current S3 line (to Holzkirchen) and the S5 line (to Kreuzstraße) to branch off underground from the second main line towards the south in the direction of Giesing.
This means the S-Bahn trains would no longer have to change direction (or “turn around,” as it’s called in railway jargon) at the Ostbahnhof. To achieve this, an underground cavern large enough to fit a single-family house must be built, said Springer. For now, it will remain a shell structure. The connection to the existing S-Bahn tracks in the south is planned for a later date.
Construction for the second main line is now underway at five locations in Munich: at Laim, between Hirschgarten and Donnersbergerbrücke, at the Hauptbahnhof, at Marienhof, and now also at the Ostbahnhof.
Roughly one billion euros will be spent on the eastern section, with up to 1,000 workers on site simultaneously. The second main line is scheduled for completion in 2035. “That would be great,” said Minister Bernreiter. However, 2037 is probably more realistic.
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