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Southern Railway Bridge– (2019-2022)

The original of the southern railway bridge over the Danube was opened to rail traffic on 23 October 1877. It has been rebuilt and modernised several times over the past century and a half. The latest modernisation was decided in 2015 and, after lengthy preparations, work started in 2019.
The steel structural elements of the new bridge were manufactured in Poland and then transported by road to Csepel, where they were preassembled. In the assembly hall, 20-metre-long structures were made, which were welded together on our barges to create 80-metre-long floating units. The water transport of these units to the installation site was carried out by our company.

The construction work was preceded by a major technological planning phase, as the new structure, weighing around 450 tonnes, had to be „squeezed” between the existing bridges. Floating barge „tandem” lifting techniques and barges with new lifting platforms and increased capacity played a strategically important role in the successful completion of the project.
In 2020, the first element of the first structure was installed with the help of our two floating cranes, followed by five other bridge elements. The first bridge structure was opened to traffic on 25 April 2021.
At the same time, demolition and rebuilding of the central bridge began. During the works, six bridge elements had to be lifted into place on site with the help of water manoeuvres. Due to the proximity of the Rákóczi Bridge, the elements were lifted from below and fitted in place using a hydraulic lifting mechanism designed and manufactured for this purpose..
Following the successful installation, the second bridge structure was opened to traffic on 11 December 2021. The demolition of the old bridge structure on the south side started at the same time as the December opening.
Finally, on 4 May 2022, with the installation of the closing element, the new, third structure of the Southern Danube Railway Bridge became passable. Hungary’s most important and busiest rail connection now spans the Danube on three tracks.