Zurich - Durchmesserlinie — North South Rail Link

Confronting an ever expanding demand for rail service and no further capacity at its main railway terminal, Zurich began construction in 2007 of an east-west rail link below the city. This project included a single twin-track tunnel 2.8 miles long and a new station below the main terminal. It was completed in June, 2014 at a cost of $2 Billion (note that Zurich is one of the world’s most expensive construction environments, but also one of the most technically advanced. Funding was provided by the Federal, Regional and local governments.

Birdseye view of Zurich's main railway terminal (Hauptbahnhof) and its great train sheds stretching out beyond

Route of Zurich's Durchmesserlinie rail link

Zurich's Durchmesserlinie rail link, extending from Altstetten station on the left, through the Lowenstrasse station adjacent to the main terminal, and on to Oerlikon (upper right). The project is 6 miles long, of which 2.8 miles are in a 10.9 meter diameter tunnel containing 2 tracks. [© SBB]

Aerial view of Zurich's main railway terminal (Hauptbahnhof) and its vast rail yards

Building a rail link below the city avoided the need to devote more valuable urban land to further track expansion, and allowed the area in green to be redeveloped as a research center called Europaallée. [© GoogleEarth]

Profile drawing showing the descent of the Durchmesserlinie rail link below the terminal, river, and hills beyond.

[G. Faessler, N. Hessler, J. Matter, Electrowatt Infra Ltd, Zurich, Switzerland, Basler & Hofmann Consulting Engineers, Zurich, Switzerland]

Durchmesserlinie Project Goals

Goals of Zurich's Durchmesserlinie rail link project included both transportation and land use considerations. [© SBB]

Cross section of the double-track tunnel used in the Durchmesserlinie project

Note the unusual waterproofing system installed in the upper portion of the tunnel to assure watertightness. [© SBB]

Rendering of the new deveopment being built adjacent to Zurich's main railway terminal, made possible by the construction of the Durchmesserlinie rail link

[visualization by Raumgleitner GmBH]

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