Evaluation of Europe’s railway bridges 

With ever more passengers and goods being transported by rail, the demands on Europe’s railway bridges are increasing. Prognoses suggest that the number of rail passengers will double by 2020, while the volume of goods being transported by rail will triple.

Improving the capacity of Europe’s railway network and bridges will require major investments. The estimated value of Europe’s railway bridges alone is an estimated €50 billion. Increasing capacity by only two per cent will result in value growth of €1 billion.

Heavier loads

The goal is to modernise Europe’s railway bridges to enable them to carry up to 33-ton axle loads. At the same time, the speed of passenger trains is to be increased to 200 km per hour on conventional tracks and to 350 km per hour on dedicated high-speed tracks.

In Denmark, goods operators are expected to seek the same permits as operators in other countries; in other words, permits to operate with 25-30 ton axle loads and passenger train speeds of up to 200 km per hour.

Guidelines to be made accessible

A €10 million research project under the EU's sixth framework programme forms part of the plans to improve capacity on Europe’s railway network. The project will bring together leading contractors, consultants, bridge owners, universities and research institutes to develop the necessary tools.

The efforts will be aimed at improving the use of monitoring systems and preparing guidelines, design methods and strengthening technologies. The final results will be available on completion of the project in 2007.

A joint European goal

"Getting all 32 involved parties to pull together to achieve a joint European goal that satisfies them all will be a major challenge,” says COWI project manager Jens Sandager Jensen. “The work is being divided among working groups which will meet physically, by telephone and via the Internet."

COWI will play a leading role in the project, especially by managing the preparation of guidelines for assessing the load-bearing capacity of existing railway bridges. COWI can draw on many years’ experience in this area, including assessment of the load-bearing capacity of all railway bridges on the railway line between Copenhagen and Padborg in connection with the rerouting of rail traffic when the Great Belt and Øresund bridges were opened. The requirements on that occasion were for 22.5-ton axle loads and a speed of 120 km per hour for goods trains.

By: Christina Tækker, cht@cowi.com  
Published: 25.05.2004