The tunnel will establish a direct connection between the new long-distance railway station at Stuttgart Airport and the existing Gäubahn line. It will significantly reduce journey times between Stuttgart and the Swiss border.
The DB Projekt Stuttgart–Ulm GmbH project is regarded as one of the key infrastructure schemes in the expansion of the Gäubahn rail line in south-west Germany.
The Pfaffensteig Tunnel will be constructed as a twin-bore tunnel, with one track in each tube.
The project is divided into two project approval sections. The first comprises the construction of the approximately 11km long main tunnel, of which 9.8km will be excavated using two TBMs.
The undercrossing of the A8 motorway and of the new railway line, including the connection to the underground long-distance railway station at Stuttgart Airport, will be carried out using conventional techniques.
The second section includes a tunnel section of around 240m constructed using cut-and-cover, followed by a trough structure, as well as the above-ground connections to the Sindelfingen-Goldberg S-Bahn station. This includes several retaining structures, railway underpasses and a grade-separated crossing. In addition, the approximately 3km-long above-ground section will be upgraded for a design speed of 200km/h, partially re-aligned and fully upgraded.
“The Pfaffensteig Tunnel is far more than an impressive infrastructure project – it is a key building block for sustainable, future-proof mobility. At the same time, the project underlines the importance of partnership-based contractual models as key to accelerating infrastructure projects when all parties involved work together from the design phase onwards. As such, it sends a strong signal in support of Germany’s modernisation drive,” said Jörg Rösler, Strabag board member responsible for the North + West segment
The Pfaffensteig Tunnel will be delivered under a partnership model across all relevant project phases.
