THE CHALLENGE: At the railway station Bad Lauterberg im Harz - Barbis (located along the train connection Göttingen – Nordhausen) of the German Rail Inc. (Deutsche Bahn AG) the icy surfaces are a big problem during Winter months. German Rail was looking for ways to address this problem without wasting valuable, scarce energy.

THE APPROACH: ARCADIS installed its WinnerWay®-System, a new heating technology for de-icing of the complete surface areas of the train platforms. The WinnerWay®-Technology uses geothermal energy for ice and snow melting of surface areas. The pilot project is the first project in Germany which investigates the potential of geothermal energy for deicing of train platforms within an operating train station. The heating system of the two 100 m long platforms was installed step-by-step within a period of 3 months. The underground is used for seasonal thermal energy storage. During summertime the platforms of the railway station are heated by solar energy. A system of pipes and heat exchangers transfers the generated heat into the ground. There, nine borehole heat exchangers transport the thermal energy into rock layers in 200m depth, which increases the rock temperature. In winter the process reverses & stored energy is brought back to the platform surfaces.

THE RESULT: A safe, de-iced platforms running on renewable energy.
DE00081