el_si1.jpg (109769 bytes)

New transformer station near Sindorf on the upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen on 8 August 2001. The masts have no religious meaning ;-). It is still under construction and not connected to the catenary by now, also the power line that will bring the electricity is not yet built. Some masts of a power line are visible far in the background, but they belong to a normal (50 Hz) power line, note that german railways use a frequency of 16.7 Hz, so seperate power lines are neccessary. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf1.jpg (98635 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the access to the temporary station of Sindorf on 14 July 2001 (at 16:40, as you can see) looking towards west. On the left is the old line with one of the temporary platforms. In the center the highspeed tracks will be installed. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf10.jpg (104336 bytes)

View onto the section Sindorf of the upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) from the street bridge at it's western end on 8 August 2001. Note the different colours of tracks and trackbeds. The track for the S-Bahn (urban trains) on the right is in use for nearly one year, while the northern highspeed track on the left is in use for some months. The southern highspeed track in the middle is not in use by now, it's surface has a bright rusty colour. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf16.jpg (109179 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the access to the temporary station of Sindorf on 20 September 2001 looking towards west. Some parts of the catenary for the highspeed tracks are already installed. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf2.jpg (96224 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the access to the temporary station of Sindorf on 14 July 2001 looking east towards Horrem. In the background a section of the southern highspeed track is already visible. The old line is on the right. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf21.jpg (110427 bytes)

View from the Breitestraße in Sindorf onto the upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) looking towards east on 11 October 2001. The highspeed tracks will run along the acoustic walls, needing also some of the space that is by now occupied by the old line on the right. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf22.jpg (100438 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the access to the temporary station of Sindorf on 15 October 2001 looking east towards Horrem. In the background the two highspeed tracks are already visible. The old line is on the right. On the left a temporary platform is built. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf32.jpg (123954 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen looking towards east from the Breitestraße in Sindorf on 18 November 2001. In the foreground is the new track for the S-Bahn (urban trains). It is connected to the southern old track, which was cut and shifted sidewards, some old ballast can be seen in the trackbed. The connection is not welded, and the rails are bent down at their ends. This will be fixed later, the connection was just made the previous night. At this time there is a speed limit of 70 km/h. The northern old track in the background remained unchanged by now. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf35.jpg (116776 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen looking towards east from the western border of Sindorf on 8 December 2001. West of this point the trains use the new highspeed tracks, the third new track for the S-Bahn (urban trains) on the right is not in service. Towards east the southern track is connected to the new track for the S-Bahn, the northern track is connected to the southern old track in the old station. The northern old track was removed to build the first highspeed track. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf38.jpg (116981 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the access to the temporary station of Sindorf on 8 December 2001 looking east towards Horrem. On the right side is the old line. The first ballast layer for the highspeed tracks is finished, the rails for the northern track were put down at a wide gauge. After aligning, a gantry crane will ride on the rails, bringing the sleepers. On the left is a temporary platform. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf41.jpg (117085 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the temporary station of Sindorf looking east towards Horrem on 16 December 2001. The highspeed tracks are now assembled in this area. On the right is the old line, on the left is a new temporary platform. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf42.jpg (151869 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the temporary station of Sindorf looking west on 16 December 2001. The highspeed tracks are now assembled in this area. On the left is the old line with a temporary platform. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf43.jpg (120739 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the temporary station of Sindorf looking west on 16 December 2001. A device for lifting the rails onto the sleepers is visible at the temporary end of the tracks. At the old line on the left is a distant signal repeater and a main signal. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf46.jpg (123410 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen looking towards west in the center of Sindorf on 27 December 2001. The northern highspeed track will be built on the right side. In the foreground is the bridge over the Herrenstraße. The distant signal (seen from the back) next to the green container on the left marks where the line crosses the Breitestraße. In the area of the acoustic wall behind the signal was the passenger station. The signal on the right side seems to be a block signal, but it also covers the siding at the old station. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf47.jpg (125800 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen looking towards west from the temporary station of Sindorf on 1 February 2002. It seems that the northern highspeed track on the right will go into service soon, while the southern one is just assembled and not yet aligned. On the right is a distant signal repeater that is neccessary behind the station, similar to the repeater behind the platform at the old line on the left. In the background a loco of the Dürener Kreisbahn (DKB) operates a train to the local industry, crossing the new track. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf48.jpg (120045 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen looking towards east from the temporary station of Sindorf on 1 February 2002. Into this direction both new highspeed tracks are finished. The distant signals for the entrance at Horrem in the background are already switched on. Note how much the new tracks go up and down. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf5.jpg (102876 bytes)

View from the Breitestraße in Sindorf onto the upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) looking towards east on 15 July 2001. In the center is the area for the new highspeed line, which moves from the north side a bit to the south in this section. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf63.jpg (118453 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the temporary station of Sindorf looking east towards Horrem on 28 June 2002. At this point east of the new station, the single track for the S-Bahn (urban trains) will split into two tracks. The switch is already in place. On the left are the highspeed tracks, at this time used for the whole traffic. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf75.jpg (88126 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) in the western parts of Sindorf, seen from the south side on 10 September 2002. The gap in the acoustic wall was left for an old catenary mast which has now been removed. The new masts carry the three catenaries for the two highspeed tracks (between the masts) and the track for the S-Bahn (urban trains). On the upper parts there are some feeding cables which transport electricity along the line, the one on this side is not yet installed. Behind the other acoustic wall are two tracks of a (non-electrified) siding. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf8.jpg (108329 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the access to the temporary station of Sindorf on 23 July 2001 looking east towards Horrem. In the background a section of the southern highspeed track is already visible. Even the temporary pedestrian bridge at the station of Horrem can be recognized, it is about 3 km away. The old line is on the right. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz

sindorf9.jpg (109845 bytes)

The upgraded line Cologne-Düren (ABS 4) seen from the southern platform of the temporary station in Sindorf on 5 August 2001 looking east towards Horrem. While the area for the highspeed is on the left side, the picture mainly shows the old line. In the foreground a new main signal is placed next to the right track, in the background is a gantry with two new distant signals. Another new signal at the left track is seen from the back. Digital photo by Christoph Schmitz