Upper Structure – High-Speed Railway to Jerusalem (A1) & Slab Track

  • Client:
    Israel Railways
  • Architect:
    Dana Engineering
  • Period:
    In progress. Completion: 2018.
  • Budget:
    NIS 750 million
  • Project Description:

    A multi-disciplinary design-build project (planning, construction and maintenance) involving civil engineering and electromechanical system work with a scope of approx. NIS 750 million. This includes the construction of an upper structure for the railway train lines, production and placement of concrete slab track, laying rails from Latrun to the Binyaney Hauma station in Jerusalem, and the installation of electrical systems, air conditioning, and smoke exhaust fans. The route is 44km long, approx. 40km of which are tunnels. The rest are bridges built as separate projects. The project is being undertaken as a partnership between Electra Infrastructure, Electra M&E, Max Bögl, and Signon.

    Project Includes:

    • Planning, including the implementation of foreign knowledge.
    • Casting system blocks with a total length of approx. 40km and a volume of approx. 90,000 cubic meters.
    • Sub-base casting with a total length of approx. 44km and a volume of 70,000 cubic meters.
    • Installation of electric cable sleeves using rigid pipes with a total length of over 1,500km.
    • High/low voltage and communication cables over 1,000km along the system blocks and technical rooms in connecting tunnels.
    • Production and installation of hundreds of high and low voltage panels
    • Installation of cable ladders and lighting fixtures along a length of 44km.
    • Installation of pipes and fire extinguishing systems along a length of 44km.
    • Installation of smoke extraction and ventilation systems in case of emergency.
    • Installation of special fire doors manufactured by Booth (UK) and Rav Bariach (Israel) in the connecting tunnels.
    • Construction of technical rooms, escape corridors and underground systems in more than 60 connecting tunnels.
    • Construction of a prefab plant using advanced technology, with a built-up area of ​​approx. 5,000m2 adjacent to the railway line for the production of approx. 7,000 concrete slab tracks, in accordance with Max Bögl's unique patent. These concrete elements were produced with precise measurements down to two decimal places, and each element has an exact location along the train line route.
    • Transportation and installation of 7,000 concrete slab track elements weighing 9.5 tons each along the route, using special two ways transporting trucks manufactured by Metalliance (France) designed to transport heavy elements in tunnels.
    • Laying railway tracks along the route.
    • Maintenance for a 10-year period via the Electra Group's maintenance division, following delivery of the project to the customer.

    This project presented the first logistical and engineering challenges of its kind in Israel, due to its long, narrow tunnels (built using the TBM method), which extend for dozens of kilometers. It was necessary for dozens of teams to work simultaneously in many different disciplines, with daily transportation of extensive mechanical engineering equipment / concrete mixers / other means of transport within the tunnels in order to perform the works and transport contractors and Electra staff. This enabled the project to be completed within record time, unprecedented anywhere in the world. Preliminary planning and meticulous day-to-day coordination were carried out under strict timetables and engineering optimization, with the development of engineering methods and solutions to support construction.

    The project is a partnership between Electra Infrastructure, Electra M&E, Max Bögl and Signon, and is an excellent example of the Electra Group's strategy implementation that includes combined capabilities and experience in infrastructure and construction with complex electromechanical system work and complementary capabilities in the service and maintenance sectors.

     

     

  • The high-speed railway to Jerusalem (also known as A1) is an infrastructure project that includes the construction of a high-speed railway line connecting Jerusalem to Ben-Gurion Airport and Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The estimated cost of constructing this line is approx. NIS 6.86 billion. The Railway line is planned for trains running at up to 160 kilometers per hour, enabling a 28-minute journey between Tel Aviv's HaHagana station and Binyaney Hauma station in Jerusalem. Binyaney Hauma station is located 80 meters underground next to the central bus station at the entrance to Jerusalem.