The rehabilitation of the Riedbahn in 2024 was the pilot project for the rehabilitation of more than 40 Deutsche Bahn corridors by 2030. Our EM100VT track inspection vehicle provided the entire database for an extended digital twin, which depicts the line as built in addition to forming the basis for the entire planning process.
0 km
Length of surveyed line section
Pilot project for several rehabilitation measures
Deutsche Bahn is planning to rehabilitate over 40 corridors and upgrade more than 4,000 kilometres of track to a high-capacity network over the next few years. The Riedbahn, a 70-kilometre line section between Frankfurt and Mannheim, is serving as a pilot project. Approximately 300 long-distance, freight, and local trains travel the tracks every day. Capacity utilization is over 150 percent on individual sections of the corridor. Delays that occur here affect the entire German rail network.
Kinematic recording as the basis for BIM as-built modelling
In June 2024, the entire line was precisely georeferenced with our EM100VT multi-sensor vehicle. In a measuring run, all track measuring data and a point cloud of the surrounding area were recorded with high precision. The main advantages of this complete package are that it saves an enormous amount of time, quality is consistent, and the data can be reused beyond the scope of the construction project. The safety of having fewer people on the track and the fact that it is largely independent of the weather is also noteworthy.
Kinematic recording with our EM100VT forms the basis for a high-precision digital as-built model (BIM – Building Information Modelling). Based on this model, tracks can be planned digitally and according to BIM, i.e. the planned infrastructure can be integrated into the existing one.
Conventional methods quickly reach their limits, especially when it comes to extensive interventions in the existing railway infrastructure. The high-precision point clouds we provided and extensive photos enable very precise BIM as-built modelling and visualization.
The optimal image of the line through the coloured point cloud makes virtual inspection from the office possible. This makes several in-person inspections – 30 to 60 in the case of the Riedbahn – no longer necessary. The time required for the virtual inspections is around 15 times less than for an inspection by staff, and no track closures and safety measures are necessary.
Modern planning methods require modern track surveying and sensors
Only by linking kinematic as-built recording with guideline-compliant track surveying does digital track planning enable a high-precision, holistic as-built model that fulfils all the requirements of infrastructure managers and can be used universally.
Based on the survey of the surroundings, OBERMEYER created a digital coordination environment of the entire line as an extended digital twin for further project planning. This environment not only maps the current line as built, but planning of the entire project is also coordinated there. High-precision data is therefore an essential prerequisite.
The database remains available forever and can be used for further data management of the infrastructure upon realization of the project, providing sustainable added value for infrastructure managers.
For the Riedbahn high-capacity corridor, we recorded the main running track and the surrounding area kinematically. We did it with absolute precision in just one day using the EM100VT. There was no need to enter the track area in order to measure the track geometry. Modern planning methods require modern track surveying and sensor technology, which the EM100VT offers.
Marc Kückmann, Head of the OBERMEYER subsidiary in Karlsruhe and head of DRS Alliance’s Smart Design product
View from the driver's cab of the EM100VT
© OBERMEYER Infrastruktur, Marc Kückmann
A five-month closure, 70 km of track, and 150 turnouts
With the rehabilitation of the Riedbahn, Deutsche Bahn bundled all planned construction measures for the coming years on a busy corridor within one line closure for the first time. An enormous construction programme was implemented – in just five months of rehabilitation, more than four times the construction volume of comparable major projects and "under the rolling wheel" in the past. Precisely coordinated planning of the logistics and the construction process was essential for the success of this pilot project.
Trains have been running again on one of Germany's busiest lines since 15 December 2024. Five months of full closure and numerous preparatory measures were necessary to make the rehabilitation of the Riedbahn a success.
Project data
| Project description | Creation of the digital coordination environment (BIM) |
| Infrastructure manager | Deutsche Bahn |
| Machines in operation | EM100VT |
| Length of surveyed line section | 70 km |
| Turnouts | 150 |
| Saved in-person inspections | 30 to 60 |
| Services |
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