€45 Billion for Infrastructure Program for Germany’s Rail Network

Deutsche Bahn and the German government are launching an unprecedented infrastructure program, as reported by the railway portal Railway Supply  citing railfreight.

The Federal Government of Germany and Deutsche Bahn (DB) have unveiled the largest and most comprehensive infrastructure program for the railway network and stations since the railway reform of 1994. This announcement was made at the Railway Summit of the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport in Frankfurt last week.

Continuation of the third metro line in Kharkiv

The project, valued at €45 billion, aims to make train operations more precise and create conditions to meet the transportation policy goals for both passenger and freight services.

The program in Germany focuses on six main directions:

• Restoring the heavily congested network and expanding the high-performance network by 9,000 kilometers.
• Addressing investment backlog and modernizing the railway network in this region. Measures include additional interchange points, switches, and denser signaling for improved stability and train service.
• Digitizing the railway network with the deployment of the European Train Control System (ETCS) throughout Germany. This will increase the capacity of the existing network by 30%.
• Targeted expansion and new construction of lines to eliminate bottlenecks, enabling the “Deutschlandtakt,” a new schedule for all passenger trains that synchronizes long-distance and regional transport.
• Extensive modernization of stations throughout Germany and the development of stations of the future with enhanced comfort and a wide range of services for passengers along high-performance corridors and the extensive network.

A key lever for a significant improvement in railway service quality is the comprehensive reconstruction of 40 sections of lines in the heavily congested network by 2030.

Stations along the lines will undergo modernization. During this process, line sections will be closed for several months. After the work is completed, the railway lines should be less prone to failures and significantly more efficient.

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The overall renovation of intensively used sections will start next year on the Riedbahn between Frankfurt am Main and Mannheim.

The Hamburg-Berlin and Emmerich-Oberhausen lines will follow in 2025.

Only along the Riedbahn, DB will significantly modernize 20 stations during reconstruction.

During the major overhaul, DB collaborates with affected railway companies and local transportation authorities to develop an efficient transportation concept.

According to parliamentary resolutions on financing and more detailed findings in the context of detailed planning, the federal government and DB, in collaboration with the industry, have planned the following sequence for the general modernization of the railway network:

* 2025:

    * Hamburg-Berlin

    * Emmerich-Oberhausen

* 2026:

    * Hamburg-Hannover (subject to further decisions)

    * Hagen-Wuppertal-Cologne

    * Troisdorf-Koblenz

    * Koblenz-Wiesbaden

    * Nuremberg-Regensburg

    * Obertraubling-Passau

* 2027:

    * Lübeck-Hamburg

    * Bremerhaven-Bremen

    * Lehrte-Berlin

    * Hamm-Düsseldorf-Cologne

    * Frankfurt/Main-Heidelberg

    * Munich-Rosenheim

    * Rosenheim-Salzburg

* 2028:

    * Bremen-Hamburg

    * Nordstemmen-Göttingen

    * Uelzen-Stendal

    * Stendal-Magdeburg

    * Hagen-Unna-Hamm

    * Cologne-Bonn-Koblenz

    * Koblenz-Mainz

    * Bebra-Fulda

    * Würzburg-Nuremberg

* 2029:

    * Hamburg-Hannover (subject to further decisions)

    * Bremen/Rotenburg-Wunstorf

    * Lehrte-Groß Gleidingen

    * Bebra-Erfurt

    * Aachen-Cologne

    * Forbach-Ludwigshafen

    * Stuttgart-Ulm (old line)

* 2030:

    * Bremen-Osnabrück

    * Osnabrück-Münster

    * Münster-Recklinghausen

    * Minden-Wunstorf

    * Weddel-Magdeburg

    * Kassel-Friedberg

    * Würzburg-Ansbach-Trochtelfingen

    * Mannheim-Karlsruhe

    * Ulm-Augs

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