Deutsche Bahn will revive 20 lines with a total of 245 kilometers of track. “Every kilometer of track is active climate protection”, says DB Network Board Member Jens Bergmann. Deutsche Bahn presented its plans on Tuesday at a joint press conference with the industry associations Allianz pro Schiene and the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) in Berlin.
The routes are the first part of previously closed routes, on which passenger or freight traffic will be back in the future. In the past few months, a DB team of experts identified a route portfolio throughout Germany with a total length of around 1,300 kilometers for which there is traffic potential. For a large part, it is worthwhile to restart the system after weighing up the costs and benefits, according to the state operator.
More people and more goods on rail
“Together with the federal states and the responsible authorities, we will bring disused routes back to life”, says Jens Bergmann, Board Member for Infrastructure Planning and Projects at DB Netz. “We are initially tackling 20 routes nationwide, with further connections to follow in the coming years. Our goal: We want to attract more people to the railways, to get more goods onto the rails. Every kilometer of track is active climate protection.” Recently, DB moved forward their goal to become climate neutral with 10 years, to 2040.
The federal, state and regional authorities together with DB decide on route reactivation. Analysis and evaluation of the potential routes were carried out in close collaboration with the partners. DB continues to advise on feasibility studies and planning – including the revitalization of routes that belong to others. These make up almost two thirds of the identified routes.