Star of Aachen
voestalpine Klöckner Bahntechnik GmbH was commissioned on 25 February 2003 by Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG (KVB) with the supply and delivery of the double-track rectangle "Start of Aachen". The Aachener Straße / Gürtel grooved turnout system is the last full crossing of two municipal rail lines in Cologne consisting of sixteen turnouts with drives, sixteen crossings and intermediate tracks. Fourteen tongue units were to be designed with deep grooves, two tongue devices with grooveless S49 rails.
The system was to be electrically insulated to avoid corrosion caused by vagrant electric currents and was to be decoupled from the neighbouring structures in order to minimise any structure-borne sound emissions. For a lack of suitable locations in Cologne and the shortage of installation time, the assembly and the cementing of the continuous elastic decoupling material was carried out prior to delivery at the production facility. Because of the complexity and the geometry of the turnout system, KVB also required that the entire double-track rectangle was completely premounted in the turnout production facility and laid out for the acceptance test. The most essential components of the elastic decoupling material was adapted and mounted section by section in the turnout production facility as soon as each of the turnout components was manufactured. This was made possible by carefully coordinating the work steps.
The customer acceptance test included an integrated assessment of all individual components and functions and was completed on 30 and 31 August 2003 in the BWG turnout production facility in Gotha. The geometry assessment in integrated system form passed the acceptance test in every way. The high degree of quality was achieved through the high level of motivation and total dedication of the employees involved.
Before the system components were delivered, each of them was uniquely labelled in order to allow correct re-installation of the turnout assemblies at the construction site. The construction site logistics were thoroughly discussed by everyone involved and the three individual construction phases were taken into consideration. The individual turnout parts were delivered as larger assemblies of components, thus saving time and money during installation.
