Deutsche Bahn pushes Stuttgart 21 opening to end of 2031, adding five more years of construction
The long-delayed Stuttgart 21 rail project will not open until the end of 2031, Deutsche Bahn told the Bundestag transport committee, pushing the start date five years beyond the already postponed 2026 target.
The new timeline
Deutsche Bahn has officially postponed the opening of the Stuttgart 21 underground through station to the end of 2031, Bahn representatives told the Bundestag transport committee on 24 June 2026. The delay adds five years to a project that was originally scheduled to open in 2019 when the financing agreement was signed in 2009. Construction began in 2010, and the opening date has been pushed back repeatedly. The most recent target, a partial opening in December 2026, was cancelled in November 2025 after digitalisation problems surfaced. Bahn chief Evelyn Palla then ordered a comprehensive review, and the 2031 date is the result.
The problems have shaken me.
Why the delay
Bahn representatives cited several technical hurdles during the committee session. The digitalisation of the Stuttgart rail node, the first fully digitalised node in Germany, has proved far more challenging than expected. Planning processes lacked the necessary maturity, and media reports indicate that cables must be partially relaid. A technical building is no longer suitable for current requirements, and both control technology and the power supply need reworking. A new emergency power concept is also required.
Impact on passengers
Passengers in Stuttgart will face another five years of provisional arrangements. Long detours around the central construction site to reach long-distance platforms will continue, although a shortcut across the roof of the new station should open from 2027. Frequent line closures, replacement bus services and train cancellations will persist. The Gäubahn link to Zurich must be severed a few months before the new station opens, but the planned Pfaffensteigtunnel via the airport is now scheduled for December 2033, shortening the interruption compared with earlier plans. The S-Bahn extension with the new Mittnachtstraße stop is expected in 2032.
Cost overruns
The 2009 financing agreement capped the distribution of costs at just over 4.5 billion euros. The most recent official estimate stood at around 11.3 billion euros, and the five-year delay is expected to push that figure significantly higher. A court ruling requires Deutsche Bahn to bear all additional costs alone.
- Financing agreement signed, opening planned for 2019
- Construction begins
- Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed line opens
- Partial opening for December 2026 cancelled; comprehensive review launched
- New target opening for the underground through station
- Pfaffensteigtunnel planned to open, reconnecting the Gäubahn via the airport
A fully digital rail node
Stuttgart 21 is the centrepiece of the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project, which also includes the Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed line that opened in 2022. The new underground station will replace the existing terminus with a through station, and the entire node will be equipped exclusively with the digital ETCS train control system. Classic light signals will not be installed anywhere in the Stuttgart node.
