2024-05-08 00:46:55
German railway company Deutsche Bahn plans to renew 2,000 km of tracks and 2,000 switches this year as part of efforts to modernize the country’s aging railway infrastructure, DPA reported.
The total investments in the railway infrastructure, which will be made by “Deutsche Bahn”, as well as by the national and local authorities, will reach a total of about 16.4 billion euros in 2024 alone, writes BTA.
Germany’s rail network is considered outdated and congested, often experiencing disruptions, repairs and construction work on major routes, exacerbating chronic punctuality problems.
The latest annual network status report from 2022 estimates the value of investment needed due to aging infrastructure at €103.4bn, with bridge repairs alone requiring more than half of this at €59.9bn .euro.
The most important railway construction projects this year will be the complete renovation of the Rydbach railway corridor connecting Frankfurt and Mannheim. The line, which is an important north-south transport route for West Germany, will be completely closed for five months. It is the first of 40 major renewal projects planned for the coming years, which will see significant parts of the network temporarily closed.