Deutsche Bahn and transport ministry cut corridor renovations to 13 routes by 2031

Fewer routes until 2031

Deutsche Bahn and the transport ministry announced on Friday that only 13 busy rail corridors will be comprehensively renovated by 2031, instead of 21. The remaining projects are postponed rather than cancelled, and the order in which the other corridors follow from 2032 onward will be set next year. The two sides said the smaller programme reflects limited capacity on the full German rail network and the limits of the construction industry. Transport minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) and Deutsche Bahn chief Evelyn Palla both still consider it right to close central routes completely for several months and carry out as much work as possible during that period. The statement says that "no corridor renovations are being cancelled, only postponed".

The 13 routes

For 2027 the list names Lehrte-Berlin, which is already underway, along with Rosenheim-Salzburg and Fulda-Hanau. In 2028 four routes are scheduled: Köln-Koblenz, the first stage of Munich-Rosenheim, Hagen-Unna-Hamm and Lübeck-Hamburg. Hamburg-Hannover, Würzburg-Ansbach-Treuchtlingen and Aachen-Köln follow in 2029. Stendal-Magdeburg and Uelzen-Stendal are set for 2030, and 2031 brings Lehrte-Groß Gleidingen and the second stage of Munich-Rosenheim. Four connections tied to Baden-Württemberg move later: Ulm-Augsburg, which was previously planned for 2034, Mannheim-Karlsruhe, originally planned for 2031, and Frankfurt/Main-Heidelberg and Stuttgart-Ulm, both originally planned for 2030.

Detours, restarts and digital train control

The rail company's infrastructure unit InfraGo will prepare detour routes more intensively and coordinate construction sequences with other sites on the network. Freight competitors had repeatedly complained that detours were not adequately prepared or communicated. After works are completed, train service is to restart gradually, with freight trains first and passenger trains only once freight operations have settled. Previous completed general renovations had repeatedly run into problems after works ended, including late trains. All routes will now be fully prepared for the digital train control system ETCS, whereas until now this was planned only on individual sections of many routes. Deutsche Bahn said:

That means that all renewed signal boxes will already be ETCS-capable, and that adapted signal locations and modern axle counter technology will be installed.

Why the plan changed

The original concept was presented in February 2023 under former transport minister Volker Wissing and then rail chief Richard Lutz. It envisaged around 40 busy routes closed for months and renovated by 2031, with each then kept free of construction for roughly ten years. The original plan provided for up to eight renovations a year. After sharp criticism, chiefly from freight competitors, the concept was first fundamentally adjusted in 2025 under the new federal government, limiting renovations to four to five per year and stretching the overall schedule to 2036. Almost every second long-distance train arrives late, and the poor condition of the infrastructure is part of the cause.