Germany’s federal government and Deutsche Bahn (DB) have presented a comprehensive infrastructure modernisation programme for the nation’s rail network and stations.
This will mark the largest transformation of Germany’s railway since the rail reform in 1994.
The new programme was unveiled at the BMDV Rail Summit on 15 September in Frankfurt am Main.
It aims to improve the punctuality and capacity of train traffic across the nation to enhance both passenger and freight transport.
The focus of the programme includes:
- Renovating the highly loaded network and expanding it into a high-performance network with a length of 9,000 kilometres
- Capacity-increasing measures such as additional crossing points, switches and denser signalling
- Digitalising the rail network with the nationwide rollout of the European Train Control System (ETCS) to create up to 30 percent more capacity on the existing network
- Targeted expansion and construction of routes to resolve bottlenecks
- Large-scale modernisation of train stations and the construction of future stations
“We are renewing and modernising the infrastructure with a programme that is unprecedented in DB history. A big thank you goes to the federal government for its commitment to provide the necessary additional funds amounting to up to 45 billion euros. It is now up to us to roll up our sleeves together with the construction industry.”
This modernisation programme will transform a total of 40 DB routes by 2030, commencing with Hamburg–Berlin and Emmerich–Oberhausen by 2025.
