Project description

Railway Infrastructure: Construction of a new public transportation railway line between the city of Hamburg and northeastern suburbs. 

This includes two additional 17 km long rail tracks between Hamburg-Hasselbrook and Ahrensburg, one new single track of around 3 km from Ahrensburg to Ahrensburg-Gartenholz, five new stations and several new bridges as well as underpasses/overpasses are planed or in construction. 

Frequency for the new S-Bahnline: Every 10-minutes between Hamburg-Altona and Ahrensburg, every 20-minutes to Bargteheide and every 60-minutes to Bad Oldesloe.

Schedule: Construction work in section 1 started in May 2021. 2nd and 3rd section are in the planning approval process.

Commissioning of the new line is according to the current timetable in December 2029.

Total Costs: 1.87 Mrd. €

Project challenges and key drivers

Project challenges: A construction yard in a dense populated district of Hamburg, parallel to an existing railroad line and into the front garden of over 500 landlords.

Track changes are necessary, but a continuous rail service on neighboring tracks during the construction period is mandatory. Addressing the needs of all residents, adhering to the emission limits and negotiating compromises with all parties involved, including two federal states (city of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein) and many other stakeholders are elementary.

Key drivers:

• Stakeholder management and communication style at eye level

• Innovative project delivery model was developed to adapt to the complexity

• A diverse team with employees from more than 20 countries and 4 continents

Our award-worthy contribution

Alliance Contracting for rail infrastructure projects:

• New and tailored Alliance Contract model has been developed and applied to our project

• Early contractor involvement with joint planning phase, cost estimate and risk assessment

• Use of probabilistic methods to establish an incentive mechanism with target cost

• Multi party contract including owner, designer and contractors.

• Goal: continuous evaluation of the opportunities to increase design and construction efficiency 

Communication is the key of a successful project realization:

• Fast, innovative, transparent and authentic communication

• Proximity to the public by professional stakeholder management

• Understanding the concerns of the public and local residents and involving the public through regular information and communication about the project (e.g. resident information, newsletter, information events)

• Our “S4-Info Train”, implemented in an original Hamburg S-Bahn and a truly unique example of citizen participation, is open every week for the public, where our team answers individual questions, explains our construction measures and has an open ear for every stakeholder and resident

Project milestones until now 

• November 2019: Construction agreement signed by the federal government, the federal states and the DB.

• May 2021: Official construction start of the S-Bahnline S4 in section 1. Over 50 partners and high coordination effort.

• First Quarter 2023: Integrated Project Delivery for section 2 und 3 was chosen. 

Goal: Only 4 partners at eye level. 

Benefits:

 Foster collaboration and partnering between the client and contractors

 Joint risk management of all parties involved in the project

 Encourage innovation and efficiency throughout the project lifecycle

 Emphasize open communication and problem-solving to address challenges effectively