NEE complains about the lack of expansion of the German rail network in 2020

According to research by the freight rail association Network of European Railways (NEE), DB Netz AG was only able to complete and put into operation just under three kilometers of additional tracks in 2020 – across all of Germany. The federal government is partly responsible for this situation. Recently, NEE drew attention to this with an impressive campaign called ‘Hear the Signal, Berlin,’ highlighting that DB Cargo receives Corona subsidies, but the private companies do not!

(Berlin) Only two and a half kilometers of new track on the Main-Weser Railway and three passing track extensions were added to the federally owned rail network in 2020. “The four measures are extremely sensible, but far too little. For the climate protection goals, this remains below the verification threshold,” summarizes NEE Chairman Ludolf Kerkeling. While the German road network grows by about 10,000 kilometers each year, rail expansion has stagnated not just this year. The association presented an analysis in April 2019, which showed that from the year of the rail reform in 1994 to 2018, only 1,709 kilometers of rail were newly constructed, while about 250,000 kilometers of roads were built during the same period. In 2019, only a 600-meter-long S-Bahn line was completed.

Freight rail transport should grow despite lack of infrastructure

Kerkeling continued: “We simply have too little infrastructure – freight transport is supposed to grow and is already facing bottlenecks at critical points. It is currently fashionable in political rhetoric to emphasize the importance of rail for climate protection. For good reason. It is now high time to turn words into action and to invest public funds not in roads, but in rail expansion.” There are hundreds of individual projects – from the major project of the four-track expansion between Karlsruhe and Basel to smaller measures like a second diverging track in Hagenow near Schwerin, to closing the electrification gap between Hof and Regensburg. According to Kerkeling, the federal government and DB Netz have failed to realize these projects for years, in some cases for decades. The unfinished plans increasingly threaten to become a brake on climate protection.

Lindau – Memmingen now electrified

At least: The route from Munich via Memmingen to Lindau can be operated electrically for the first time from December 13 under the newly constructed overhead line, no longer relying on diesel-powered trains. However, the implementation of this prestige project on 155 kilometers of existing track has taken almost 30 years since its inclusion in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan in 1992. This figure illustrates how long it would still take to close the electrification gaps distributed across Germany – unless the federal government changes its approach and organizes a consistent and comprehensive expansion of the rail network. Ludolf Kerkeling stated: “For new routes, missing overhead lines, and the so-called smaller and medium-sized measures in the existing network, DB Netz and the Federal Ministry of Transport are primarily responsible. Why is the Tesla construction in Grünheide progressing so quickly, while rail expansion does not?”

Minimal track expansion of 2.5 km in 2020

The four projects involve 2.5 kilometers of new track construction in the urban area of Frankfurt am Main, as well as three extensions of existing passing tracks in Eschweiler near Aachen, Hamburg-Bergedorf, and Schwarzenbek in Schleswig-Holstein. On the extended passing tracks, which are part of the 75-project “740-Meter Program,” standard-length freight trains can now overtake faster passenger trains.

Photo: © NEE / Caption: Recently, NEE drew attention to the fact that DB Cargo receives Corona subsidies, but the private companies do not!
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