SBB operation control centre

In the coming years the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) will be merging dozens of its traffic control sites into four operation control centres. The centrally located operation centre at the rail junction in Olten serves as prototype of such a control centre. A new building was also constructed for this with a suitable design. From here all rail traffic will be controlled for the midlands, and northwest and central Switzerland, including access routes for the railway link through the Alps through the Gotthard and Lötschberg tunnels. Teams of personnel and processes which were formerly separate have been merged.

At the heart is the command centre, to which further administrative, human resources and engineering facilities are connected. The large amount of complex operations and building technology, which was designed for maximum flexibility in all areas in terms of provision and use, offers an ideal situation for the use of access floor systems.

To meet the changing specifications of the individual areas, Lenzlinger supplied and installed a total of roughly 10,000 m2 of access floor solutions, with different formats with respect to installation height, load-bearing capacity, type of floor panel, and surface finish. In areas with higher loads – such as the command centre and in the server and electrical rooms – a Type 8 substructure was used (joist system with lengthwise and crosswise joists screwed in place); and in the rest of the rooms the standard Type 5 individual supports. As surface covering kugelgarn®, parquet (in relaxation room), rubber and plastic were used. Because of the better noise insulation properties, the floor panels made of mineral fibre in the command centre have a thickness of 38 mm instead of the usual 34 mm.