Sersa Süd renews Monte Generoso rack-and-pinion railway
The third phase of the renovation of the Capolago – Monte Generoso rack-and-pinion railway in Tessin (Switzerland), was successfully completed on schedule between 15 November 2021 to 25 March 2022, with another phase planned and a fifth one optional.
This year's action plan had to be adjusted given the experiences of previous winters, (first phase 2019-2020 and second phase 2020-2021), when it was only thanks to the delay in reopening the activities in Vetta (Restaurant Fiore di Pietra owned by the architect Mario Botta) that it was possible to achieve the annual average production, so as to ensure that the intervention work would be completed within four years.
Having consulted with the planning firm and the principal party who is also responsible for transport to and from the construction site, we carried out various preventative measures (advance deliveries of reinforcement material and gravel) in order to make optimum use of the planned interruption. This winter's works comprised the renewal of 2 points and 700 ml of track in Vetta, followed by 2 points at the San Nicolao station and 2,040 ml of track in the direction of Capolago. In order to be successful and to ensure that the entire renovation project was completed in four years, we could not afford to miss one of the 83 planned days of production. Possible snowfalls were forecast following the punctual commencement of the works on 15 November in Vetta and the completion of the upgrade and renewal of 2 points and the track. So, we took the decision to only stop the work in the upper section following the renovation of some 375 m of track, and to plan the relocation of the construction site further down at the station in San Nicolao. On 27 November 2021, there was a 30-cm snowfall and the temperatures dropped considerably, forcing us to shut down the construction site. Losing no time, we arranged for the delivery and distribution of the entire track material for the San Nicolao - Capolago section and commenced operations right in the middle of December. We were fully aware of the time constrictions involved with this kind of mountain-based construction site, and so we continuously updated our operational plans while checking how we could become even more efficient given the prevailing meteorological conditions.
Following the complete renovation of the San Nicolao railway station, we prepared the section as far as Capolago. The work involved demolishing the existing superstructure from top to bottom, excavating and screening the old crushed rock, and the subsequent installation of the new track material (by applying a new construction concept entailing filling the crushed rock and immediately tamping the material from top to bottom). This dual simultaneous method was possible because we had access to the client’s traction units and the locomotive with a wagon was on hand to transport the crushed rock ballast to the station at San Nicolao, which was located upstream of the work site. This meant that the downstream production face could now be supplied from above (rather than from below as originally planned) with the crushed material needed for constructing the new track. Our daily rate of track completion almost doubled despite a few difficulties, including the fact that it was not possible to position the wagons for transporting the crushed rock, downstream from the convoy. This forced us to adopt an indirect approach, in which we unloaded the crushed rock upstream from the construction site, before transporting it upwards using a tracked excavator, then loading it onto a tracked dumpster, which broad the rock to the lower construction site. The initial tamping was performed after the crushed rock was unloaded, as required for the installation of the new track. It was thanks to this strategy that we could optimise our plans for the work, and guarantee six productive days per week. Due to the incredibly benevolent weather (118 successive days with no precipitation), we successfully renewed 2,100 m of track between Capolago and San Nicolao, added two points and new platforms for the station at San Nicolao, and signed off the work in Vetta. It was only due to the tremendous commitment shown by our client FMG, our engineering partner, our professional team, the good weather conditions, and the implementation of new operating strategies that we were able to complete the third phase meeting all time limits and planned production targets.
We are looking forward to tackling the 4th phase this coming winter. The 950 m missing from the summit and the 650 m to accomplish as far as Capolago no longer seem like an impossible challenge.
