Deutsche Bahn: "We will stop obsolescence of the rail infrastructure in 2024"
The infrastructure subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn has presented its plans for the modernization of the rail network.
Railroad tracks in Bremen.
(Bild: heise online / anw)
The rail subsidiary DB InfraGo plans to extend, modernize and renew over 2,000 kilometers of track, 2,000 points, 150 bridges and 1,000 stations this year. Investments in the rail infrastructure of Deutsche Bahn, the federal government and the federal states are expected to total around 16.4 billion euros this year. According to a press release, DB InfraGo CEO Philipp Nagl believes that his company will succeed in stopping the aging of the rail infrastructure for the first time in many years in 2024. DB Infrago is hiring 5,500 new employees this year to maintain and expand the rail network.
DB Infrago consists of the former infrastructure units DB Netz AG and DB Station&Service AG, which the German government merged to form the new rail subsidiary in 2023. The Monopolies Commission, on the other hand, had called for rail infrastructure to be made independent of DB. Possibly against this background, Nagl now emphasized: "DB InfraGo is faster, more efficient and more powerful."
Preparations for general refurbishment
The rail network will not only benefit from the planned refurbishment in 40 high-performance corridors, but also from the preparatory work. DB InfraGo explains this about the general refurbishment of the Riedbahn between Frankfurt am Main and Mannheim, which is due to start in mid-July. In February and March, construction teams carried out various maintenance work on points, tracks, technology and overhead lines on the Alsenz and Ludwigsbahn, as well as on the Main-Neckar-Bahn.
The main stations in Duisburg, Dresden, Hanover, Ulm, and Munich are among the around 1,000 stations and stops that are to be modernized or newly built in 2024. Barrier-free access, weather protection and passenger information are to be created at smaller and medium-sized stations. The first digital interlocking on a main line is to be officially opened in Donauwörth in the summer.
DB InfraGo says it is creating new capacities as a contribution to "implementing the Deutschlandtakt step by step". To this end, it put the second track of the Weddel loop between Braunschweig and Wolfsburg into operation in the first quarter, for example. The ground-breaking ceremony for the four-track extension of the Hanau-Gelnhausen line recently took place.
(anw)