Germany – Research and development services and related consultancy services – Forschungsprojekt - DZSF -Ermittlung und Bewertung von Dieselmotoremissionen (DME) von Fahrzeugen der Fremdrettungskräfte in Eisenbahntunneln

For railway tunnels according to the EBA-Ril-Tunnel (two-tube principle), in the event of an incident (e.g. fire), it is intended that emergency vehicles of external rescue services will enter the other tube, which is not affected by the incident. These vehicles are almost exclusively powered by diesel engines, which, when in operation, cause corresponding emissions (exhaust fumes). Unlike road tunnels, no systems for exhaust gas extraction are provided in electrified railway tunnels. In the course of planning approval procedures (involvement as a public authority), objections are therefore raised by external rescue services that the permanent operation of diesel emergency vehicles in the tunnel is not possible due to diesel engine emissions (DME) and that the exhaust fumes would prevent emergency personnel from staying in the tunnel tube permanently. Nevertheless, natural air currents usually exist in railway tunnels, which could remove the corresponding exhaust fumes. There are currently no results or findings in general about flow velocities and their effects on air pollutant concentrations in tunnels depending on various geometries of railway tunnels.