- Shortly after the European Football Championship, the biggest infrastructure renovation project in decades begins at Deutsche Bahn.
- The company has high hopes for the planned 40+ general renovations.
- Among other things, restrictions are expected in the greater Frankfurt am Main area, which also affects long-distance trains connecting to Switzerland.
From 11pm on Monday, the critical rail line between Frankfurt am Main and Mannheim will be closed for several months. The first of the 41 lines, known as the Redbahn, is slated to be modernized by 2031.
Germany’s Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing expressed confidence that the project would be a success. “It’s well prepared, the construction industry has the capacity, the materials are there. “So there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work,” Wissing told “Deutschlandfunk.” The construction industry, for example, recently expressed doubts that public renovations will succeed as planned.
A “blocked main artery” in the German rail network
To begin with, the Rietbahn, one of Germany’s most important routes, is being modernized: more than 300 regional, long-distance and freight trains run there every day – although there have been daily disruptions recently. Tracks, overhead lines, signals and switches will be replaced by mid-December. Then there will be freedom to build for many years.
“A redbone is like a blocked main artery in an organism. “It can be cut off now, regenerated, and then the system will work better,” says Wiesing.
Purana:
Keystone/AP Photo/Matthias Rietzel
For the next four weeks, the ICE high-speed line between Cologne and Frankfurt will also be closed. This road has been closed since today.
According to the railways, passengers should be prepared for train cancellations and delays of between 40 and 90 minutes till August 12. As trains are diverted, the Siegburg/Bonn, Montaber and Limburg Sud stops will no longer be available. They can be reached by alternative bus services. In four weeks, 70 kilometers of tracks and 13 switches are to be replaced on the route.
Deutsche Bahn has had a bad reputation over the years for its punctuality. Wissing criticized the fact that very little money had been spent on their renovation in recent years. This is supported by new figures from the lobby association Alliance Pro Schein: According to it, per capita investments in rail in Germany in 2023 will be 115 euros (112 francs) – significantly more than 400 francs in Switzerland.
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