Extended Bern station will not open until the end of 2029
Published: Wednesday, Sep 4th 2024, 12:00
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The upgraded Bern station cannot be opened until the end of 2029. The construction work will take longer than planned, as SBB, the regional railroad company RBS and the City of Bern announced to the media on Wednesday.
The new SBB underpass was previously scheduled to go into operation in mid-2028 and the Bern-Solothurn Regional Transport (RBS) underground station in mid-2029. There are several reasons for the delay.
The rock is harder than the subsoil investigations suggested. "The excavation is more complex than expected," said Benno Nussberger, overall program manager at SBB.
In addition, SBB repeatedly comes across objects that were not noted in the old plans. These include old rail sections that were used around 1960 to create a higher mass during the construction of the platform.
The fact that the work is being carried out during ongoing rail operations is also proving to be tricky. Trains arrive and depart directly above the SBB construction site.
Nussberger described the corresponding coordination as a "Herculean task". Any track closures would have to be reduced to a minimum. Because, as he emphasized several times, "the upper capacity limit of the station has already been reached".
Projects build on each other
The delays have a direct impact on the RBS partner project, as the construction work on both projects is heavily dependent on each other. Access to the RBS station is via the new pedestrian underpass, explained Adrian Wildbolz, overall project manager at RBS.
Despite the delay, he was delighted with the latest "milestone". Since this summer, all excavation work for the underground station has been completed.
The impact of the delay on the project costs will not be known until the second half of next year. They were already revised upwards in 2022 in connection with delays. Since then, SBB had been expecting costs of around CHF 375 million. RBS was assuming CHF 730 million.
Six objections pending with the city
The project also involves traffic measures around the Hirschengraben, including a pedestrian underpass from the Bubenberg station entrance to the Hirschengraben. "Otherwise, the infrastructure will only work underground," said Reto Zurbuchen, Bern city engineer. Voters approved a loan of 112 million Swiss francs for these measures in 2021.
The city is now benefiting from the delay to the project in that there have also been delays to the planned passage: A total of 22 objections have been received, as the city announced in July.
As a result, it made minor changes to the project. These relate in particular to traffic and its infrastructure. The City of Bern was unable to reach an agreement with six parties.
Nevertheless, the city is optimistic that the construction work will be completed by the time the new station opens, according to Zurbuchen. Construction is scheduled to start at the end of 2026. The delay had also resulted in additional costs for the city, but these could be covered by the approved loan.
The Bubenberg Center is expected to open as planned at the end of 2025 and will serve as a second major entrance to the station.
Construction site open day
The "Zukunft Bahnhof Bern" expansion project is urgently needed because Switzerland's second-largest railroad station is reaching its limits. It is very crowded at rush hour.
Work began in 2017. The public can take a look behind the scenes next Saturday at the open construction site day.
©Keystone/SDA
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