Thirty years of vibration protection for the Philharmonic Hall at the Gasteig

Long-lasting quality of under ballast mats — even under extreme conditions

The “Am Gasteig” cultural centre in Munich is directly adjacent to the central tunnel of the Munich urban railway system: the centre is also home to the philharmonic hall and the city library. The railway line – a standard ballasted track with timber sleepers – ranks as one of the busiest light rail lines in Germany.

The challenges

Vibration protection for the “noise sensitive” philharmonic hall
Daily load of around 150,000 metric tons
A variety of environmental influences

The Getzner solution

When the cultural centre was built in 1983, the builders had to ensure that the background noise level in the concert hall did not exceed the specified limit of 25 decibels when a train passed, so that the concert hall could also be used for recording.

To protect the noise-sensitive cultural centre from structure-borne noise emissions, the under ballast mats from Getzner were installed in 1983 over a distance of 345 metres.

Philharmonie Gasteig, building with bricks, glass, a vertical garden and trees.

Three measurements – one result

Since 2013 we have discovered just how effective the Getzner under ballast mats are in the long-term: the products have been reducing the vibrations on this important route for around 30 years –and in turn the maintenance costs have reduced. The under ballast mats successfully reduce the structure-borne noise when a train passes through; the acoustic performance remains sound even today.

«All the tests indicate that our under ballast mats will remain effective for at least another 30 years. If we take the standard track service life of 50 years for our calculations, then we can be sure that the under ballast mats will remain effective throughout and beyond this period», says Mirko Dold, Product Manager at Getzner.

The under ballast mats from Getzner retain their properties and function even under extreme conditions. Even environmental influences, such as standing water, couldn't affect these mats.