The platform in Daglfing is deserted on Monday morning, the announcement is heard from the loudspeakers: “Information about S8 in the direction of Munich Airport: Due to construction work, the route between Daglfing and Johanneskirchen is closed until January 22nd.” Replacement buses are in use. It almost seems as if the announcement was intended less for the passengers than to encourage the construction workers who are currently renewing the overhead line. 15 kilometers of copper wire must be laid in one week.
In recent months, workers from the construction company Rail Power Systems (RPS) have erected around 150 new pylons along the four-kilometer stretch. “The old masts have held up since 1939, so it was about time,” says Katrin Weise, project manager at Deutsche Bahn. The new masts should last a similarly long time. The railway began planning the new overhead line in 2019; the project will cost a total of around eleven million euros.
Arms protrude from the sides of the masts and reach over the tracks of the S-Bahn line. Each of these is broken in the middle by what looks like a small accordion – insulators that prevent current from flowing down the pole. Vera Pfaff, RPS project manager, explains: “We used to use porcelain insulators, but today they are all made of plastic.”
As soon as rail operations resume, there will be a voltage of 50,000 volts. There is danger to life. The construction workers are currently adjusting the exact height of the new line. The power is out. In addition to the workers, two other groups are happy about this: birds and copper thieves. “To protect birds and cables,” as Pfaff says, the masts are equipped with many small spikes. “Nevertheless, we often have short circuits when the animals connect two cables with their wings.”
Copper thieves are generally more careful. However, during the construction phase without electricity, the risk of the expensive metal being stolen is higher. To make matters worse, the freshly laid pipes still shine. “After a few months, the copper oxidizes and turns green, then the cable looks less attractive,” says Pfaff.
Bruno, one of five mobile work platforms currently in use between Daglfing and Johanneskirchen, drives up with a loud rattling noise. Bruno has eight height-adjustable wheels, four for rail and four for road, depending on the type of construction site. Bruno’s arm rises several meters into the air. Above, three men wearing orange body armor stand in a basket.
The employees stand on the Bruno work platform and check whether the wires are well tensioned.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
In order to ensure that the S-Bahn to the airport is as short as possible, construction work at Daglfing is currently running 21 hours a day. Night shifts in the dead of winter. Project manager Weise describes the conflict: “We always have to find the right balance between normal operation and new construction. I’m sure we’ll be finished here by next Monday.”
Hüseyin Yilmaz is in Bruno’s basket; he is responsible for tensioning the wires. When temperatures drop, the copper contracts. The cables are then shorter and tighter. So that the trains’ pantographs can travel along it unhindered, Yilmaz has to precisely adjust the voltage. He wears a thin cap under his helmet. “Minus ten degrees at night is still okay, from minus 17 it gets really tough!”