Die neue ÖBB-Rheinbrücke bei Lustenau, Österreich - Ein außergewöhnliches Bogenbrückentragwerk

The new ÖBB Rhine Bridge near Lustenau, Austria - an exceptional arch bridge.

The new international railway bridge of the Austrian federal railways (ÖBB) connects the Swiss canton of St. Gallen with the Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg. This bridge is part of the single track route from St. Margrethen (CH) to Lauterach (A) and crosses the river Rhine at Lustenau. The tracks of this section are owned by the ÖBB and they form part of the international route from Zurich via Bregenz to Munich. The new bridge fulfills the requirements of flood control and reduction of travel time. Due to the requirements of the International Rhine Regulation (IRR) to allow a flow capacity of 4300 m³/s, the soffit of the new bridge had to be raised by 2 m compared with the old bridge and the new rail axis was offset 12m to the south. The new aligning allowed for an increase of speed from 60 km/h to 90 km/h.
The project includes seven other bridges that had to be newly erected. During planning, close contact was held with the IRR, the federal state of Vorarlberg and Swiss authorities. In a bilateral agreement, it was defined that the Eurocode with Austrian national application documents would be used for the design.