Case Study: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) advances open BIM collaboration for the Brüttener Rail Tunnel with Catenda Hub

Pioneering open BIM in a Swiss railway tunnel

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) faced the challenge of applying Building Information Modeling (BIM) to the massive, complex Brüttener Rail Tunnel project. To eliminate a major transportation bottleneck, SBB and lead consultant ILF needed a web-based collaboration platform to manage this pioneering open BIM endeavor, a first for a Swiss infrastructure project of this scale. They chose Catenda Hub as their Common Data Environment (CDE).

Catenda Hub provided an intuitive and open BIM platform that became the single source of truth for the multinational team. The solution successfully coordinated the 10 km long tunnel design, enabling a structured 3D design process that identified issues earlier than traditional 2D methods. The pilot was so successful that SBB commissioned its use for the entire project. Catenda's platform proved the value of open BIM for infrastructure, providing a sound framework for future projects and increasing staff engagement with the design process.

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)

Jonathan Dunn

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)