Hodapp GmbH & Co. KG, Europe's leading manufacturer of innovative special door solutions, is equipping the groundbreaking major project Stuttgart 21 with around 600 different doors and gates.
Hodapp's door systems meet the highest standards for fire protection, smoke resistance, and mechanical strength. The project includes the construction of more than 50 kilometers of new track.
Hodapp swing doors are now used worldwide as escape doors in the cross passages of railway tunnel connections. With a leaf weight of approx. 280 kg, a service life of 25 years and a fatigue strength of several million load changes, they are specially designed for use in railway tunnels with speeds of up to 300 km/h.
The successful integration of Hodapp swing doors into railway projects began with the 9,4 km long Katzenberg tunnel near Freiburg in 2012, where Hodapp introduced the concept of a swing door that opens in both directions.
The application of this door solution extended to various other DB tunnel projects, including the Kaiser Wilhelm Tunnel and the German Unity Transport Projects (VDE) construction phases 8.1 and 8.2, the Mainz Tunnel and the Falkenberg Tunnel.
The breakthrough came in the summer of 2017, when Hodapp was awarded the contract for the installation of its door system on the Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed line as part of a Europe-wide tender.
The supply of 106 swing doors for the tunnel sections with a total length of over 30 km was delivered as planned.
Hodapp's door and gate solutions were then adapted to the specific requirements of Stuttgart 21, and after numerous tests and examinations, the Hodapp swing door received approval from the Federal Railway Authority (EBA) in 2018, which thereby confirmed the quality and safety of these door solutions and thus qualified them for Stuttgart 21 and also for other construction projects.
In addition to the swing doors already mentioned, access gates for emergency access, doors for technical rooms, throttle valve swing gates in the airport tunnel and around 65 kilometers of handrails in the tunnels along the escape routes will also be installed.
Hodapp doors and gates can be found in numerous tunnels of the Stuttgart21 project, including the Filder Tunnel, the Ober-/Untertürkheim Tunnel, the Feuerbach Tunnel, the Bad Cannstatt Tunnel, the new S-Bahn Tunnel and the tunnels at the airport and the main station.
Stuttgart 21 is much more than a train station, it is a prime example of a modern and future-proof rail hub. Passengers can expect many new connections and shorter travel times.
The project includes the construction of four new railway stations, 57 kilometers of new railway lines, 59 kilometers of tunnel tubes, 16 tunnels and culverts, and 44 bridges.
Hodapp is delighted to be at the forefront with its innovative door and gate solutions for the new tunnels of the European long-distance transport network and to be able to make a sustainable contribution to this groundbreaking infrastructure project in Baden-Württemberg.