Development of infrastructure

In 2026, about € 30.2 billion is expected to be invested in the expansion, renewal and modernization of the network, stations and energy facilities. Among other things, this includes:

• LuFV funds (grants and own contributions) amounting to € 13.4 billion, about € 6.1 billion for maintenance (own contributions and investment grants), € 4.6 billion for requirement plan projects, and
• Funding for the existing network outside the scope of the LuFV, such as the Municipal Transport Financing Act (Gemeindeverkehrsfinanzierungsgesetz; GVFG), third-party funding from Federal states and municipalities or the Climate Action Program (Klimaschutzprogramm; KSP), totaling about € 5.5 billion.
• Gross capital expenditures are expected to rise significantly in 2026. In the area of maintenance, it is expected that the funds will be fully utilized; in the area of new construction and expansion, it is expected that the funds will be nearly fully utilized. The utilization of the funds is only expected to be lower than forecast in the area of digitalization and in the Stuttgart 21 project (due to the delay in the start of operations).

Key developments in the expansion and renewal of the rail network in the first half of 2026 included:

• Hamburg―Berlin corridor modernization: From August 1, 2025, to June 14, 2026, DB InfraGO carried out a comprehensive renovation and modernization of the 278 km line between Hamburg and Berlin. During the construction work, a total of more than 160 km of track and over 249 switches were replaced, among other things. Seven additional so-called track change facilities will ensure greater stability and flexibility in operations going forward. For example, this allows faster passenger trains to overtake slower freight trains. In addition, 28 stations along the line were modernized. The commissioning of the line had to be postponed due to the harsh winter and took place in stages. On May 15, 2026 – two weeks later than planned – trains were once again able to run on the northern section from Hamburg to Hagenow-Land. With the minor timetable change on June 14, 2026, train services also resumed on the Nauen — Berlin section.
• Hamburg―Hanover quality initiative: On May 1, 2026, DB InfraGO began the comprehensive renovation and modernization of the line between Hamburg and Hanover. The work is divided into three construction phases. After the usage of sections of the line to reroute services from Hamburg to Berlin until June 14, 2026, the line has been completely closed to all train traffic. A substitute transport is ensuring that passengers can continue to travel during the closure. The line, which is about 163 km in length, is considered a highly utilized rail track. As part of the quality initiative, a total of about 66 km of track, 36 switches and 15 switch heaters will be completely replaced. In addition, 23 new overhead wire masts will be installed. In addition, DB InfraGO is using the construction phase to make significant progress on the modernization of four stations along the line.
• Nuremberg―Regensburg corridor modernization: On February 6, 2026, DB InfraGO began the Nuremberg — Regensburg corridor modernization. During the construction work, 96 km of track, 81 km of overhead wires and 74 switches were replaced or maintained, among other things. 1,300 new masts were installed. In addition, DB InfraGO modernized 20 stations along the line.
• Obertraubling―Passau corridor modernization: On June 14, 2026, DB InfraGO began the comprehensive renovation of the 109 km Obertraubling — Passau line. Along the line, about 120 km of track, more than 140 switches and about 90 km of overhead wires will be installed, replaced or maintained, among other things. Preparatory measures were taken in good time to make the most efficient use of the construction period through December 2026.
• Right-hand Rhine line: DB InfraGO has awarded the final construction contracts for the corridor modernization of the more than 80 km section between North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse. Already in summer 2025, DB InfraGO was able to award the construction contracts for the four additional construction sections in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. Preparatory work for the corridor modernization from July 2026 was in full swing during the first half of 2026. A comprehensive plan for substitute transport with buses was also developed and coordinated. From mid-May to June 2026, DB InfraGO organized an infomobile tour to over 20 locations to inform interested parties about the upcoming construction work and the substitute transport options.
• Emmerich―Oberhausen: DB InfraGO concluded the 80-week construction period in May 2026. Since November 2024, work along the line, which is about 73 km in length, has included the construction of 17.5 km of new track, the installation of 25.5 km of new overhead wires, the new construction or expansion of 21 bridges, the opening of four new platforms, the removal of five railway crossings and the installation of about 9 km of new noise barriers. On the first section between Dinslaken and Voerde, three tracks are now available for operations. In addition to the intensive work on the three-track expansion, the line saw extensive replacement capital expenditures in the form of a corridor modernization. As part of the project, 30 km of track, four switches, four platforms and one bridge were renewed.
• Leipzig―Dresden: DB InfraGO is pressing ahead with the comprehensive renewal of the junction structure at Dresden central station. With the commissioning of the newly constructed eastern section of the bridge on February 16, 2026, another significant milestone in the construction project was reached. The project is scheduled for overall completion in fall 2027.
• Eifel line: Almost four years on from the flood disaster, trains have been running continuously between Gerolstein and Cologne again since June 16, 2025. DB Group, in collaboration with the Federal states, municipalities and contracting organizations, has carried out extensive repairs on the heavily damaged Eifel line. The electrification of the line has also begun, with fully electrified train services expected from 2028.
• Saxony-Franconia main line: The double-track section between Regis-Breitingen and Treben-Lehma – equipped with conventional command and control technology as well as overhead wire and telecommunications systems – went into service on May 17, 2026. This represented another important milestone in the comprehensive modernization of the Saxony-Franconia main line.
• Second main line Munich: Extensive work is underway throughout the Munich metropolitan area as part of the second Munich S-Bahn (metro) main line project. The construction of a new flyover structure and three rail overpasses began in April 2026 at the Munich-Westkreuz site. In Munich-Laim, the new platform opened in June 2026. In January 2026, specialized civil engineering work began on the western expansion of the excavation pit at Munich central station. In early 2026, construction also began on the interim station, which will house operationally relevant units at the central station during the construction period. At Marienhof station, the second section of the floor slab, which has a thickness of up to five meters, was completed in June 2026. As part of the construction of the eastern tunnel portal for the second S-Bahn (metro) main line, work began on building the bored pile wall for the ramp structures and the distribution structure.
• Stuttgart 21: The new commissioning plan was presented to the Supervisory Board of DB AG on June 25, 2026, and to the Stuttgart 21 steering committee on June 26, 2026. It includes postponements of the key commissioning dates by five years. The commissioning of the new through station in Stuttgart, which was most recently scheduled for December 2026, is now planned for December 2031. In addition to the innovative Stuttgart Digital Hub, the main factors affecting the schedule include planning processes that have not progressed far enough, a central technical building that was completed in 2013 and no longer meets current requirements, and the emergency power supply, for which a self-sufficient power supply is required to be established instead of a second feed-in. As the first measure to improve traffic flow, the pedestrian routes at the central station, which have been extended due to the construction work, are to be significantly shortened in 2027. Test operations on the southern section of the new Stuttgart 21 infrastructure, between the airport and the junction with the high-speed line toward Ulm, are also set to begin in the same year. Irrespective of this, construction is underway on the third lattice shell of the station tower at the through station, which will serve as an additional entrance to the station hall. In addition, construction of the Pfaffensteig tunnel has begun. The Pfaffensteig tunnel, which forms part of the extension of the northern Gäubahn, ensures the connection of the Gäubahn to the airport as agreed by the project partners in the S21 financing agreement and, further along the line, to the reorganized Stuttgart railway hub.

As of June 30, 2026, a total of 218 requirement plan and GVFG projects were in planning and construction (57 GVFG projects and 161 requirement plan projects). Further information about the projects is available online on the BauInfoPortal.

Small and medium-sized measures program

One of DB InfraGO’s priorities is the rapid expansion of capacity on the existing network. To this end, we are implementing a comprehensive portfolio of small and medium-sized measures until 2030. These measures improve the bottleneck situation and the network’s resilience to disruptions in the short term. They benefit all modes of transport (regional and long-distance passenger transport as well as freight transport) on the existing network and are implemented primarily on the high-performance network. The projects include infrastructure measures such as additional track change options, passing tracks or new platforms. The implementation of 31 measures is planned for 2026. Among others, the construction of the new junction station in Rodheim and the track-switching operation at Nuremberg Hohe Marter — Nuremberg marshaling yard were already implemented in the first half of 2026.

Measures at stations

By the end of June 2026, extensive modernization measures had been implemented at about 600 stations across Germany; the plan is to cover 1,000 stations by the end of the year 2026. Some of our construction projects with nationwide significance include:

• Hagen central station: Work to renovate Hagen central station has been underway since early 2025. In early 2026, platform 4 resumed service as the first section of the conversion. Platform 3 and the associated station roof are currently being renewed. This work is scheduled to take place until October 2026, with the main construction work on the platforms and station hall roofs set to be completed by 2028.
• Duisburg central station: Work to renovate all platforms and construct the new station roof has been underway since mid-2022. Following the construction and commissioning of four of the six platforms, work is currently underway to complete the fifth platform and the corresponding section of the station roof by February 2027.
• Hanover central station: Since the summer of 2022, all platforms, platform roofs and some bridge structures have been undergoing gradual renewal. Work on the first platform A (platform including roof) and platform B (platform only) is largely complete. Following the reconstruction of platform B, work is now currently underway to install additional technical equipment and amenities. Work on platform B is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. Construction of the third platform C is scheduled to begin in 2029.
• Berlin central station: Due to extensive maintenance work, the Stadtbahn line in Berlin between Charlottenburg and Ostbahnhof will be completely closed to regional and long-distance trains from June 14 through December 12, 2026. Additional switches and signals will also be installed so that trains can reach the platforms more quickly and flexibly in the future.
• Hamburg-Altona station: The terminal station for long-distance and regional transport is being relocated here. The current Diebsteich S-Bahn (metro) station is set to become a through station. A total of four platforms and a concourse building are being constructed. Work has already begun. The new S-Bahn (metro) platform was put into operation at the beginning of 2025. Construction of the three long-distance and regional platforms is scheduled to begin in July 2026 and is expected to be completed in 2029.
• Escalators: In February 2026, escalators manufactured by KONE at various stations had to be taken out of service as a precautionary measure after critical incidents were reported at Berlin central station. Once the cause had been identified, all escalators of the same design were inspected nationwide. Of these, about two-thirds were cleared to resume operations without any issues. Most of the gearboxes that were identified as problematic had been replaced by June 30, 2026, including ten complete systems.

In addition, DB InfraGO completed the modernization of 67 stations during the first half of 2026 in line with the vision for stations of the future. By 2026, at least 130 stations are to be transformed into stations of the future.