Integral cooperation in railroad improvement Zevenaar-Didam-Wehl

The track between Didam and Zevenaar will be doubled over a length of 4.5 km and trains will travel at a higher speed. A big job for contractor Strukton. The Arnhem - Winterswijk route, used daily by some 21,000 passengers, is the hub of public transport in the Achterhoek and Arnhem - Nijmegen region. The accessibility of the region is important both for individual travelers and for the economic attractiveness of the area. High time, therefore, for a structural and future-proof solution.

The Chainhor excavates the ballast bed under the track.

"The railroad has been at the heart of our activities since 1920," says Marcel Wijgerse, multi-disciplinary project manager at Strukton Rail. The rail upgrade between Zevenaar and Didam is a joint project of ProRail, Gelderland Province and the municipalities of Zevenaar and Montferland. As design and technical manager, Wijgerse is responsible for the preparation and execution.

A big job

"Such a large project involves a lot. Not only the track doubling, but also linking all train safety objects such as signals and level crossings. The overhead lines in Zevenaar must also be modified. The Babberichseweg crossing will become a tunnel for cyclists and pedestrians. There are waterways crossing the tracks, here it is necessary to renew two culverts in connection with the construction of the second track. At Didam, there will be a switch with a different angle ratio because of the increase in train speed. Another switch will be completely rehabilitated. A new technical room has now been built." Wijgerse continues: "In addition to the main track doubling and speed increase job, Strukton is also carrying out track renewal between Didam and Wehl in Doetinchem municipality. Next summer, from July 27 to August 11, there will be a partial train-free period of sixteen days and hard work will be carried out over a total length of ten km to carry out all the work, including the cable route."

Closed level crossings you will encounter a lot during the 16-day out-of-service period. Follow the detour routes; they were created for a reason.

Good preparation is half the battle

"We have been preparing and planning the work for about three quarters of a year, which will soon be done in sixteen days. It's a pretty complex and broad project, but by taking an integrated approach, it's going to work. I always say "plan your work, work your plan. That makes everyone keen on deviations from the schedule. Of course, it is quite an operation to keep everything on track. During the "sixteen days," all the preparation reaches its peak and nothing can go wrong. Then the enormous diversity of engineering fields sits together and the trick is to carry out all the work according to schedule. This requires a lot of prior coordination. You have to know almost to the hour who is working where. In a project like this, it is not only nice but also the strength of our company that we have all disciplines in-house. Strukton Rail is responsible for all track work. We are working together with Strukton Civiel for the construction of the underpass and culverts and for asphalting level crossings. Subsidiary GBN performs the earth and ballast moving and Strukton Milieutechnieken is responsible for the preceding soil surveys. Molhoek CCT is building the level crossings, reinforced soil construction and laying drainage systems."

The track doubling crosses the A12 national highway below. Because of the tight space due to the pillars of the A12, the tracks will be somewhat closer together here.

Environmental Management

In addition to a lot of coordination with stakeholders (such as municipalities, Province, the Water Board), environmental communication is very important to Wijgerse. "Whereas previously this was mostly the responsibility of ProRail, here we have more tasks. During the day we carry out preparations for work that can only be done during the 'sixteen days'. This is to relieve train traffic and travelers during the day. But that does mean that we have to carry out work at night, while we also want to limit environmental nuisance. That's when communication is crucial." Meanwhile, Strukton is busy with all the preparatory work.