DB Netz to Invest 825 Million Euros in Upgrading Its High-Speed Lines
DB Netz, the infrastructure arm of Deutsche Bahn, has announced it will invest €825 million in upgrading its high-speed rail network by 2023. These works will be completed in stages. Works on the Hanover-Würzburg line will commence in 2019, while works on the Mannheim-Stuttgart line will follow in 2020. During the upgrade works trains will be diverted.
The Hanover-Würzburg and Mannheim-Stuttgart lines are two of Germany’s main high-speed rail links. They have been in operation for almost thirty years, meaning that it is time for hundreds of kilometres of tracks, points and associated equipment to be renewed.
Frank Sennhenn, CEO of DB Netz AG, said:
“After almost 30 years in operation DB is making two primary routes fit for the coming decades. In this act of strength we are investing and modernising to provide fast and reliable mobility.”
Hanover-Würzburg Line
Work on this line will be conducted in four stages. 523km of track and 224 points will be replaced. 800,000 new sleepers and 500,000 tonnes of rubble will be required. These measures are estimated to cost €640 million.
Inevitably this will mean that journey times will be around 30–45 minutes longer on affected routes and there will also be some reductions in capacity between Hamburg and Frankfurt as well as Berlin and Frankfurt.
Mannheim-Stuttgart Line
These works will begin in 2020 and continue for 205 days. The line will be fully closed between 10 April and 31 October. The focus of the renewal works on this line are on around 190 km of track and 54 points. 200,000 tonnes of new rubble have to be put in place and 315,000 new concrete sleepers have to be laid. The costs for these works are estimated at €185 million.
