East-West axis Cologne

Fire protection for the underground stops and the railway tunnel

As part of the urban development masterplan, the city of Cologne intends to sustainably strengthen public transport between the districts on the left and right bank of the Rhine. For this so-called east-west axis, the focus is on the reorganisation and redesign of the three central squares Rudolfplatz, Neumarkt and Heumarkt as well as the street Deutzer Freiheit. Another important area along the east-west axis is the area around the Aachener Weiher.

Politicians still have to decide whether and to what extent the tunnel solution should be realised. In the area between Universitätsstraße and Deutzer Brücke, plans are therefore currently being made twice: Either the light railway runs above ground or through a tunnel. A total of 5 options are currently still available. A decision in favour of one option is to be made in the second quarter of 2024. According to current plans, construction in the west and east sections can begin in mid-2026 and mid-2027 respectively.

If the tunnel solution is chosen, three further underground stops and an associated line tunnel will be planned on the east-west axis on the left bank of the Rhine, adjacent to the Heumarkt underground stop already built as part of the north-south urban railway.

On the east-west axis on the left bank of the Rhine, four further underground stops and an associated line tunnel are to be planned adjacent to the Heumarkt underground stop already built as part of the north-south urban railway. The central aim is to increase the transport capacity of light rail line 1, as line 1 is the backbone of Cologne. It connects the east with the west. It runs right across Cologne in 56 minutes, bordering Frechen and taking passengers as far as the Bergisches Land region. However, this objective cannot be achieved with the vehicles currently available. It is not possible to further increase the frequency of the timetable as all capacities have already been utilised. It is therefore planned to operate the line on the east-west axis with vehicles with a total length of approx. 90 metres. These long trains have the required maximum capacity of around 600 passengers in total.

STUVAtec was commissioned by KVB AG to carry out extensive fire protection services for both the western and eastern sections of the Rhine.

Fire protection concepts in accordance with TRStrab Brandschutz must be developed for Heumarkt and the three new stops on the left bank of the Rhine. In addition to this, the safety-relevant boundary conditions for the new line tunnels must be defined and described in a safety concept. Four existing stops on the right bank of the Rhine are to be upgraded in terms of fire protection.

In addition to the fire protection concepts, fire simulations and evacuation calculations must be carried out by STUVAtec in order to prove that the protection targets specified in accordance with TRStrab fire protection can be achieved with the planned layout.