It is the largest rail shutdown ever in Germany: the nine-month closure of the Hamburg-Berlin railway. That shutdown is about to get even bigger, with its main detour route closing as well on 1 May. Needless to say, rail freight operations are set to become even more costly and complicated in northern Germany.
The route that is closing down is the Hamburg-Hannover railway. It is a key freight corridor, in particular for shipment to Italy and (south)eastern Europe from the Port of Hamburg. The planned construction works have been watered down from Germany’s original plans — 66 kilometres of track, 36 switch, six switch heaters and two kilometres of overhead lines will be renovated.
The limited scope of the project should help reduce some of its negative impacts, since the works will run in parallel to the Hamburg-Berlin closure. German infrastructure manager DB InfraGO has dubbed the works a “quality initiative”, rather than a “corridor renovation”, to reflect the extent of the job.
Die Güterbahnen, the German private rail freight association, remains skeptical about DB InfraGO’ framing. “The planned measures effectively amount to a corridor renovation”, the association says. “We suspect that the term ‘corridor renovation’ is avoided primarily to avoid being held to any standards typically applied to these projects (e.g., keeping the routes free of construction for several years afterward).”
Additional costs per kilometre
The Hamburg-Hannover railway is clearly of great interest to the rail freight industry, explains Die Güterbahnen, which sees that more of its member companies are interested in this route than in the “equally significant” Hamburg-Berlin railway.
Fortunately for the rail freight companies, they will only need to pay track access charges reflecting the cost of the original route (and not the longer, more expensive, detour). Less fortunately, the price of increased energy usage, staff costs and vehicle deployments are all for the companies to bear — save some minor discounts for short-term ad-hoc services. Die Güterbahnen has calculated that the additional costs amount to €16.08 euros per kilometre.
“Since detours often cover several hundred kilometers, these costs quickly add up to substantial amounts — especially given that two central routes, Hamburg–Hanover and Hamburg–Berlin, are affected simultaneously”, the association explains.
Companies are cancelling trains
The big picture reveals organisational challenges at the German infrastructure manager. The rail freight industry continues to report communication issues, says Die Güterbahnen: “information about construction sites often arrives late, and a reliable overall overview of parallel measures is frequently lacking.”
At the same time, the various regional divisions of DB InfraGO often plan their maintenance works simultaneously, leading to additional congestion. Unexpected disruptions can then lead to significant restrictions and delays. “Many companies therefore have the impression that the cross-regional coordination of closures and detours is not functioning adequately.”
Die Güterbahnen highlights the real practical consequences of DB InfraGO’s approach. For example, Hamburg-based feed manufacturer Habema has already had to cancel trains and is “facing uncertainties regarding rail deliveries”.