Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, Germany’s most important station, has been given the green light for the long-awaited new railway tunnel. Once built, most long-distance trains will approach the station from 35 metres below ground and will call at four new underground platforms. The tunnel will relieve pressure on the crowded overground network, making services faster and more reliable for passengers.
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf © DEUTSCHE BAHN AG | VOLKER EMERSLEBEN
By moving the majority of the long-distance services off the current overground lines, those lines will also be freed up to increase the number of trains providing local and regional services. In total, the tunnel should enable 250 additional trains per day at Frankfurt Station.
Now that a study has confirmed the feasibility of the tunnel, Deutsche Bahn will start the concrete planning phase. The subsequent construction period will be about ten years. Frankfurt central station was a chronic bottleneck in the German railway network, he said, and said this tunnel would make long-distance services faster, increase capacity locally and deliver greater punctuality for all.
This is what should have been done at London Bridge for Thameslink 2000.