Pirna-Dresden S-Bahn: Civil engineering work and track drainage

The drains in Dresden could not cope with record rainfall there in the summer of 1999. During the night the rain had fallen at about 5 L/sq m/hr. This was many more times than the drains, built in 1890-1920, could handle. This led to new planning for the new drainage system during the upgrading of the S-Bahn between Pirna and Dresden. It is shown that surface water can be drained away from the track area relatively easily without making any demands on the already overloaded drain network of cities such as Dresden. The discussion covers available railway tracks to be reconstructed; and planning of the future drainage. The Pirna-Dresden train track stretch was extended to four lanes in 1897-1910. These stretches had no crossings with roads. After the second world war, in 1946-1948, the stretch was rebuilt to one track. Beginning in 1956 the stretch was rebuilt to two tracks. In 1995, the Free State of Saxony and the Deutsche Bahn AG decided to extend this section to four tracks. The stretch will in the future be separated for passenger and freight traffic. The speed for the main-line railway track will be 160 km/hr and for the S-Bahn will be 120 km/hr. Drainage systems are illustrated. Photographs, diagrams, and references.