Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group Implements Gäubahnausbau North as Part of a “Rail Partnership Model”.
Next major project for Deutsche Bahn by RSRG: Together with Swietelsky, the rail technology specialist is responsible for the superstructure and power supply of the Gäubahn line between Stuttgart Airport and Böblingen.
The “ARGE Bahntechnik Schwäbische Alb” consortium had already impressed the client with the new line over the Swabian Alb, which was completed on schedule in December 2022. Robert Kumpusch, Managing Director for Project Business at RSRG, stated, “We are pleased to also be the first choice for the partnership model. This is confirmation of our competencies not only in rail construction and equipment but also in collaborative partnerships with the client and all other project participants.”
Along with six other contract partners, the entire project will be handled from planning to commissioning. The DB Projektgesellschaft Stuttgart–Ulm GmbH signed the corresponding multi-party contract in November 2023. Alliance partners include Geoconsult, FCP, IC-Consulenten, Züblin, Wayss & Freytag, Strabag, Rhomberg Sersa, Swietelsky, Spitzke, and Hörmann. In the first project phase, which is to be completed by the end of 2025, planning will take place alongside target price determination and work preparation with construction-preparatory measures. According to the schedule, construction will begin in 2026 and the line will be commissioned in 2032.
The aim of this contract model is to save time and thus also costs. Processes are accelerated by having all alliance partner companies involved in the design and approval planning of the trades from the beginning, rather than participating only from the execution planning stage. There are no bilateral contracts between the client and contractors, but a multi-party contract – one contract with all contractors.
Scope of RSRG's Contract
In the area of superstructure, the “ARGE VP5 Gäubahn” consortium is responsible for the construction of the fixed track in the double-track, approximately elevenkilometer-long Pfaffensteig Tunnel as well as the ballasted superstructure on the open line and the Mönchsbrunnen junction. Additionally, six switches are included. For the power supply, the contract includes the planning and installation of 50-Hz systems in the tunnel and on the open line, cable civil engineering, ventilation of the connecting structures, construction of transformer stations, switch heating systems, concrete switch houses, noise barriers, and platform adaptations at the Böblingen-Goldberg stop.
