Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007 - (Page 109)

Tunnels GRALEX, ONE OF THE EUROPEAN HIGH SPEED TRAIN’S KEY PARTNERS BELGIUM’S 3RD HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK IS DUE TO GO INTO SERVICE AT THE END OF 2007 AND, IN ORDER TO REACH SPEEDS OF 300 KM/HR BETWEEN LIÈGE AND THE GERMAN BORDER, THE HIGH SPEED TRAINS WILL BE TRAVELLING “ON THEIR OWN SITE”. THE CREATION OF THIS NEW SECTION CALLS FOR SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF THE MATERIALS, TECHNOLOGIES AND METHODOLOGIES USED TO BUILD AND OPERATE IT. GRALEX IS THE EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER OF THE BALLAST (PORPHYRY) WHICH IS NEEDED TO STABILISE THE NEW TRACKS. T Gralex is the leader in the mining industry sector on the Belgian market, with 15 quarry sites currently in operation. The company produces in excess of 10 million tonnes of granulates/year, over 20% of which goes for export, mainly to France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Gralex had turnover of over €85 million in 2005. Its business provides 300 direct jobs and over 1,200 indirect jobs. The company is pursuing a policy of development supported by investments which amounted to more than €9 million for 2005. 20% of these investments was spent on the environment. he government and the SNCB, the Belgian train network operator, have drawn up the layout for the high speed train system based on 3 main lines around Brussels: 1 western branch running towards France, 1 northern branch running towards the Netherlands and 1 eastern branch running towards Germany (Brussels, Leuven, Liège, Aix-La-Chapelle and Cologne). TUC-Rail, a subsidiary of Infrabel, is in charge of the designing, studying, implementation and certification/accreditation of Belgium’s high speed train lines. The construction of these lines is being carried out in a number of very precise stages: geotechnical studies, calculation of the infrastructures, archaeological digs and civil engineering works. In addition to its intrinsic qualities of resistance to impact and wear, porphyry from the Quenast quarry adheres to the type 1A technical prescriptions (high speed train lines). It is very clean and helps to limit dust emissions during installation, especially in tunnels. Gralex supplied the ballast in two stages: • The first third to be used solely for the pre-ballasting of the tracks before assembly is supplied by road and poured into a finisher so that it can be spread out onto the new line’s concrete slab. • The next two-thirds were delivered by rail. So we make up trains of 22 hopper cars each with a capacity of 55 tonnes, in other words a train with 1,200 net tonnes of ballast! So the special qualities of the porphyry from Quenast and the availability of dedicated rail loading facilities at the quarry mean that Gralex has become the sole supplier for this huge project and for other rail projects in Holland and France, working for the mobility of tomorrow GRALEX Gulledelle 94 • B-1200 Bruxelles Tel. ++ 32 2 773 35 71 Fax ++ 32 2 763 21 73 www.gralex.be The 35 km of the last section in Belgium (Herve/Eynatten) comprise: • five viaducts including one which is 1,245 m long • seven cut and covers including one which is over 1,100 m long • one 6.5 km two-lane tunnel at Soumagne (near Liège) with 2 additional cut and covers • 300,000 tonnes of ballast, i.e. 9 tonnes per linear metre! LA MISE EN SERVICE DE LA 3ÈME LIGNE TGV DE BELGIQUE EST PRÉVUE FIN 2007. POUR ATTEINDRE LES 300 KM/HR ENTRE LIÈGE ET LA FRONTIÈRE ALLEMANDE, LES TGV CIRCULERONT EN « SITE PROPRE ». LA CRÉATION DE CE NOUVEAU TRONÇON NÉCESSITE DES EXIGENCES PARTICULIÈRES QUANT AUX MATÉRIAUX, AUX TECHNOLOGIES ET MÉTHODOLOGIES D’EXÉCUTION ET DE MISES EN ŒUVRE. GRALEX ASSURE LA FOURNITURE EXCLUSIVE DU BALLAST (PORPHYRE) NÉCESSAIRE À LA STABILISATION DES NOUVELLES VOIES. EURAILmag Business & Technology Issue 15 http://www.gralex.be

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

SOMMAIRE
NOTICE BOARD
COATINGS
NEWS
SERVICES
INFRASTRUCTURE
HIGH-SPEED LINES
TUNNELS
PEOPLE
ROLLING STOCK
WEBSITE DIRECTORY

Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

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