The Austrian National Railway (ÖBB) is heavily investing in modernising and renovating its stations nationwide with mass timber.

Although the roof at this recently renovated station in Bad Erlach looks simple at first glance, it is extremely well-designed and the result of a comprehensive Austrian research process to achieve the most climate-conscious and easy-to-maintain solution. It is indicative of many other stations that are being upgraded across the country. 

The engineering process took into account several factors, such as wind, different snow loads, stress caused by passing trains, safety, and the ability to install in very short time frames so that passengers would experience minimal interruption with track closures. The design also had to be low-carbon, durable and accessible for all passengers.  

A Sylva™ CLT Roof 20 m long was a perfect match for the Bad Erlach station because it is high quality, entirely mass-customised and could be delivered with preinstalled lifting slings to facilitate fast and safe installation at night with minimal line closure. 

Easy-to-maintain

Being located next to passing high-speed trains and power lines can make routine roof inspections for maintenance challenging to schedule for safety reasons. However, the maintenance crew reported that the roofs were 'easy to inspect and easy to maintain due to their well-thought-out design'.

Durable

Timber construction (like all construction) requires a moisture management plan. Specifying the Sylva CLT Roof to be precoated with a hydrophobic coating ensured weather protection during the construction phase. In the long term, many of the stations have rear-ventilated levels and structural separation of the rain gutter from the load-bearing mass timber, so any condensation or moisture ingress is removed, preventing any long-term structural damage. 

Circular/ reusable design

The overall design process considered the entire service life from an ecological, economic, and social usability perspective. The end result is an excellent example of circular design because it is made from 100% PEFC sustainable wood and can be dismantled and repurposed when its current use is no longer needed. This means the carbon stored in the wood fibres can potentially stay stored for a hundred years or potentially even longer with good maintenance. The other wonderful advantage of using exposed wood is that it has a calming and stress reducing effect on the passengers and has a timeless beauty about it. 

Accessibility

The platform is accessible via a ramp and equipped with a guidance system and paving stones with a grooved surface that can be felt with a cane for visually impaired passengers to access trains safely. 

Read more: Infrastructure Buildings - proHolz Austria