Deutsche Bahn (DB) is putting various highly important rail construction projects on hold. That is according to German publication Der Tagesspiegel, which got its hands on internal company documents. Those show that the projects may be in (temporary) jeopardy due to insufficient funding.
The projects in question include the Gotthard Base Tunnel access route between Basel and Karlsruhe, for which planning is now paused for the section between Offenburg and Freiburg. The funding uncertainty is also interrupting works on the Brenner Base Tunnel access route between Munich and Kiefersfelden, the Frankfurt – Mannheim HSL and the Studernheimer Curve in Ludwigshafen, among others.
– The Offenburg – Freiburg project is part of a four-track expansion to be able to use full capacity through the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland. In 1996, Germany committed to completing that expansion.
– The Munich – Kiefersfelden section is a key access route for the Brenner Base Tunnel in Austria and, as such, important for transalpine freight traffic.
– The Frankfurt – Mannheim high-speed line is vital for freight traffic along the busy Rotterdam – Genoa corridor. It also helps in relieving the congested Riedbahn, which reportedly still causes problems after its 1,5 billion euro renovation.
– The Studernheimer Curve in Ludwigshafen would improve rail connections to the BASF industrial complex.
Not cancelled
To be clear, DB is not pulling its hands off of the projects altogether. The company is only saying that progress will stop once the current planning phase is over. In order to move forward, it needs more money. DB wants 150 billion euros from Germany’s special infrastructure fund to finance its activities until 2034.
In other words, it’s going to come down to German politics. If these projects receive political backing and financial support, planning could resume. DB has suggested to railway associations that nine projects, including the Freiburg – Offenburg project, might be restarted soon.
The private sector does not like what it sees
On the flipside, DB’s words have not particularly reassured the rail freight sector. Peter Westenberger, director of the private sector association Die Güterbahnen, criticised DB’s lack of transparency. “From what we can tell, DB only wants to launch a few new or expansion projects, preferably those that benefit its long-distance passenger services.”
“The intention was that politics, in consultation with the entire sector, would decide the sequencing of new projects under the Germany-wide timetable initiative”, Westenberger continued. However, only DB and the Ministry of Transport are currently involved in the discussion.
Westenberger suspects that DB is trying to secure as much funding as possible for construction work on the existing network, mostly for the costly general renovations. “From what we can tell, DB only wants to launch a few new or expansion projects, preferably those that benefit its long-distance passenger services.”