into the light

Trip to Stuttgart to check out progress of the new railway station. It's been quite a while since I last visited. I have been watching progress from afar. Seeing the real thing is quite awesome. Even better is going on a tour of the construction site. We got to wander in the Northern tunnel (see extra). The part with the rectangular cross section is built using cut and cover technique, ie dig a hole, build the tunnel, cover the hole. The tunnel with the elliptical cross section is cut into the rock. On of the issues was that a huge listed building was in the way of the hole for the tunnel. So they put it on hydraulic jacks, built the tunnel underneath and lowered the building onto the tunnel. Four tracks in four separate tunnels enter the station with 8 platforms. Lots of points distribute the incoming tracks onto the platforms. The platform hall is absolutely amazing huge concrete cups hold the roof. They have large round windows that allow natural light into the station. It was an amazing experience visiting the construction site. Such a cool thing to be able to do. I suspect it helps to build some support for the projects. There were huge protests initially and many people said it wouldn't work. I am looking forward to it opening at the end of 2025 if everything goes according to plan.

Lots more pictures on flickr.