Construction of DML Line Officially Starts in ZurichAfter nine years of planning, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) president Andreas Meyer and Zurich regional president Rita Fuhrer officially laid the first stone of the cross-city link project in Zurich, a diametral line (DML standing for Durchmesserlinie in German), in the hall of Zurich's central railway station on 20th September, 2007. The 9.6 km Durchmesserlinie (DML) is a circular line connecting, from north to south and west, Oerlikon, Zurich's central railway station and Altstetten (see map). It forms part of the so-called ZEB project for the future development of the railway infrastructure. The line starts from Oerlikon in the northern suburbs and then loops to the east in the S-shaped Weinberg tunnel below the city to reach a deep through station in Löwen Street, 16 metres beneath Zürich central railway station. Then it emerges to the light to connect with the main line to the west in Altstetten.Trains coming from west will penetrate into Löwen Street station travelling on two new bridges. From there, they will take the new single-tube dual-track Weinberg tunnel, approx. 4.5 km in length, which will shape a loop under the Limmat and the Zurichberg, prior to reaching Oerlikon where redevelopment works of the station will be carried out.Railway services will not be interrupted during construction of the bridges, the underground railway under Löwen Street and the Weinberg tunnel. The line will be used both by suburban trains (S-Bahn) and long distance trains. It will eliminate the cul de sac in the terminal platforms and allow through traffic for trains. With 2,000 train movements and 300,000 passengers/day, Zurich main railway station is the busiest in Switzerland. SBB announced on 14th September the award of the first five construction contracts for the new line. No objections were lodged during the statutory 20-day consultation period. They cover construction of the new junction at Oerlikon, the Weinberg tunnel, and the station shell at Löwen Street. A consortium of Implenia, Wayss & Freytag, Bilfinger Berger and PraderLosinger has been appointed to build the Weinberg tunnel. A Marti-led consortium will construct Löwen Street station. Click ch/37. The Durchmesserlinie (DML) is expected to cost around CHF1.8 billion to build, 16% more than the 2000 estimate. The studies undertaken then included a 30% cost underestimate. The project will cost CHF234.5 million more than initially thought. The canton of Zurich will finance 40% of the extra cost. The cost of the five civil engineering lots of the diameter line Altstetten-Zurich main station-Oerlikon amounts to CHF667.1 million, or CHF129.5 million more than first planned. CHF25 million will be earmarked to the construction of additional safety galleries required by the Federal office for transport (OFT).The first section between Oerlikon, the Weinberg tunnel and Löwen Street is scheduled to open for S-Bahn services in December 2013. The connection from Löwen Street station to Altstetten would follow two years later in 2015. The benefit will be a 30 minute time saving for trains between St Gallen and Geneva. Read E-News Weekly 6/2007 & 33/2006. Visit www.durchmesserlinie.ch and http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/infra-dienstleistungen/infra-bau/infra-grossprojekte/infra-durchmesserlinie_zuerich.htm (English, German, French and Italian). 49/07.