Deutsche Bahn plans to carry out fewer so-called “corridor renovations” on individual rail lines each year in the future. The number of annual renovations will be adjusted to match available funding, rail executive Evelyn Palla said in Berlin on Thursday. Furthermore, experience to date has shown “that four corridor renovations per year (…) is too many.” Details regarding the revision of the renovation strategy are currently still being discussed with the Federal Ministry of Transport.
Palla does not intend to fundamentally alter the renovation strategy, which relies on full closures of key routes—sometimes lasting months. However, the timeline will be pushed back: “The delay will depend on how many we carry out per year.” It is expected to result in two or three renovations annually, rather than the four previously planned.
The corridor renovation concept was introduced by former railway chief Richard Lutz and former Transport Minister Volker Wissing. Originally, the plan was to renovate more than 40 corridors by 2030, but that schedule was subsequently extended. Several rail lines have already been renovated, though in some cases this involved delays and higher costs than originally projected.
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According to Palla, things are expected to run more smoothly in the future with fewer renovation projects per year. Furthermore, greater care is to be taken to ensure that diversion routes for rail traffic are properly prepared for use during full closures. It recently emerged that the renovation of the Hanover-Berlin line would result in significantly greater disruptions for passengers, as the parallel route intended for use during the construction work was not yet ready.
Palla intends to address criticism regarding the continued frequent disruptions on lines that have already undergone renovation—such as the Hamburg-Berlin route—by managing expectations differently. “It is also a question of what specific service promise we want to make,” the railway chief said. “To what extent do we want to reduce service disruptions on the renovated line? (…) And what guarantees can we provide regarding freedom from construction work?”
Author: AFP – pe/ilo
Sources: AFP Press Portal