In 2015/16, the BIM design of the new Rastatt Tunnel was one of four BIM pilot projects in Germany assigned by Deutsche Bahn and the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

The Rastatt Tunnel is part of a major railway expansion project between Karlsruhe, Germany and Basel, Switzerland. The tunnel will be completely underground and, at 4270 metres, will be the largest single structure in the project. Around 250 freight and passenger trains are expected to pass through the tunnel every day. It is being built 20 metres underground to significantly reduce noise pollution for local residents.

The aim was to test the application of the BIM method on the basis of the traditional 2D plan. We developed a strategy for the use of BIM and advised Deutsche Bahn on the implementation of both digital design and BIM for this major project. A 3D plan of the tunnel was created and extended to include schedule and cost planning as the fourth and fifth dimensions. The project participants had access to this now much larger database, which led to significant improvements in both the quality of the design and the transparency of schedule and cost control.

For Deutsche Bahn planning and managing major construction projects using BIM is a way of improving transparency and efficiency. The strategy developed by Arup has enabled Deutsche Bahn to use BIM for future projects.

 

BIM of Rastatt Tunnel

The deployment of BIM in the new construction of the Rastatt tunnel was part of one of four pilot projects in Germany assigned by German Rail and the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

In the BIM pilot project Rastatt tunnel the BIM method was used for the first time on a large-scale DB Netz AG project. We turned to Arup here as an external consultant, in order to ensure international best practice with regard to the Building Information Modelling method, still relatively new in Germany, in this project. Arup has already developed BIM implementation strategies for large-scale DB Netz AG projects on previous occasions.

Sascha Bjorn Klar

Project Manager for large-scale projects at DB Netz AG