The excavation for the new underground station Heumarkt in the centre of Cologne
seen from the western end on 21 April 2006. At this location the new underground
line crossing the city centre from north to south (Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn) will
pass through under the tracks of the lines 1, 7, 8 and 9 (crossing the centre
from east to west, Ost-West-Stadtbahn). The visible area between the rows of
pillars on the left and on the right is located under the two southern lanes of
a main street, while the temporary cover of the leftmost area carries the tracks
of the Ost-West-Stadtbahn (which is by now running on the surface, in the middle
of this street). Later the excavation will be extended northwards to fill the
space under the whole street. Note the two large interspaces between the pillars
on in the right row, which are spanned by lattice cross girders. Through these
gaps the drilling machines for the Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn will pass, about 20
metres below this level. The intermediate level (between the surface and the
platforms of the Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn) will be used as a pedestrian underpass
for the first time, but it will be prepared to house the tracks of the
Ost-West-Stadtbahn, which shall be transferred to the underground in the remote
future. The startup of the Nord-Süd-Stadtbahn is planned for 2010.
<p>
Digital photo by
<a href="http://www-users.rwth-aachen.de/christoph.schmitz2/index.html">Christoph
Schmitz</a>
(<a href="mailto:christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de">christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de</a>)