Development of the infrastructure

In 2022, more than € 13.6 billion is to be used to renew and maintain the network, stations and energy facilities. This includes LuFV funds (grants and own contribution) amounting to € 5.4 billion and € 2.6 billion for maintenance.

In the first half of 2022, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the implementation of construction projects continued to be minimized through effective crisis management. The impact of the material price increases and bottlenecks resulting from the war in Ukraine on current construction projects was also kept at a low level through effective crisis management and close cooperation with the construction industry. In both cases, close monitoring and targeted counter­­measures often enabled us to resolve any disruptions quickly in cooperation with the construction industry.

• In January 2022, a second eastern bypass track near Maschen was put into operation in the Hamburg hub. The rail track between the Maschen marshaling yard turnout Meckelfeld stop and Hamburg-Harburg is one of the most important connections for the Hamburg maritime ports. The second eastern bypass track at Maschen is one of numerous measures to clear the bottlenecks at the Hamburg railway hub and to make it more efficient in the future.
• In April 2022, one year earlier than planned, the four-track expansion between Bamberg and Ebensfeld (Hallstad —Breitengüssbach expansion) as part of the Nuremberg — Erfurt high-speed expansion line/new construction line (ABS/NBS) (VDE 8.1) was completed. This means that separate tracks for high-speed transport and regional and freight transport are available to the north of Bamberg. The new dual-track line heading toward Erfurt/Leipzig/Berlin and the dual-track line heading toward Lichtenfels/Saalfeld/Jena split at Ebensfeld.
• In order to continue with the construction of the Rastatt Tunnel in the Karlsruhe — Basel expanded/new line (ABS/NBS) project, a replacement section of the Rhine Valley rail line was built in the area of the tunnel, which was an essential requirement for any subsequent work.
• In June 2022, the next stage of the renewal project on the Hanover — Würzburg high-speed line began. Construction will continue on the Fulda — Würzburg section until Decem­ber. On the expansion line from Stuttgart to Singen and on to the Germany/Switzerland border (Gäubahn), construction started on the dual-track upgrade of the Horb —Neckarhausen section.

Key milestones were also reached in spring 2022 for projects in the planning phase, such as the decision being made in favor of the preferred option for the upcoming new construction line between Fulda and Gerstungen (Eisenach): the planned line will run via Bad Hersfeld.

In addition, two major multi-year projects will go into operation at the end of 2022:

• In preparation for the commissioning of the new construction line Wendlingen — Ulm of the Stuttgart — Ulm rail project in December 2022, the high-speed, acceptance and test runs started in spring 2022.
• Also on the home straight is the expansion of the rail connection to Germany’s deep-water port JadeWeserPort: after work on the Sande rail relocation (new dual-track construction) was completed in the first half of 2022, the entire Oldenburg — Wilhelmshaven line will go into operation after electrification has been completed in December 2022.

Overall, construction began on two projects and three projects went into operation in the first half of 2022. At the end of June 2022, a total of 199 projects from the Requirement Plan and the Municipal Transport Financing Act (Gemeindeverkehrsfinanzierungsgesetz; GVFG) were in planning and construction.

Further information on the projects is available on the Construction Information Portal (BauInfoPortal) Web site.