Berlin-Cottbus line

World's largest railway project using sleeper pads for vibration protection

Deutsche Bahn (DB) upgraded the heavily-used railway line between Berlin and Cottbus, which lies in the state of Brandenburg, in 2010. Following the southerly section of the Berlin-Cottbus line, the middle section of the route was also upgraded to allow trains to run on it at higher speeds.

The challenge

Renovation of the entire railway superstructure over a distance of 60 kilometres.
Efficient protection of the structures close to the track – in spite of the fact that fast trains are planned on the line.
No removal of the entire superstructure.
Since the completion of the construction work, the track which was previously designed to accommodate a top speed of 120 km/h can now be used by trains travelling at speeds of up to 160 km/h and at greater frequency.

The Getzner solution

Getzner worked closely with DB to develop a special polyurethane sleeper pad with effective acoustic damping for the Berlin-Cottbus line. The pad was designed within the scope of the research project «Quiet train on real track» (LZarG) which was aimed at developing new technologies for lower-noise railway traffic. The polyurethane mats dampen the vibrations of trains as they pass through built-up areas.

The new pad has been specially tailored to meet the requirements of these projects. So far, Berlin-Cottbus has been the biggest railway project of its kind in the world involving the use of sleeper pads to protect against vibrations. All in all, some 52,000 sleepers and 17 turnouts were fitted with Getzner pads. By using sleeper pads, the experts were able to integrate the vibration protection in a cost-effective manner – without having to completely remove the track superstructure.

Advantages for the customer

Efficient vibration protection for adjacent buildings with an increase in train speeds
Specially developed polyurethane sleeper pad with effective acoustic damping
Just-in-time logistics
Product development in close cooperation
The solution reached the series production stage and was approved by DB Technology

„The cooperation with the Getzner team was exemplary. The quality of the sleeper pads was consistently high and enabled us to affix them to our concrete sleepers without any trouble. Deliveries were also excellently coordinated: They arrived on time and in the agreed volume.“

Gundolf Spitzner, Head of European Sales, RAIL.ONE GmbH