A new internal report from DB Netz, which maintains the German rail network, makes grim reading. On a scale of one to five, with one being the best grade, the nationwide German rail network receives an average grade of 2.9. Grade three covers “a reasonable facility with moderate functional impairments”.
Museum-worthy signal boxes
Schleswig-Holstein’s transport minister, Claus Ruhe Madsen, is in no way surprised by the report’s conclusions:
– As a picture of the decay of the railway infrastructure – which has been observed passively for decades – you only need to look at the more than 100-year-old bascule bridge in Lindaunis or our museum-worthy signal boxes, writes Claus Ruhe Madsen on the Ministry of Transport’s blog.
According to NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, the new director of DB Netz AG, Philipp Nagl, is of the opinion that the German rail network is “partly too old and too prone to errors” and “insufficient capacity”. The situation is worst in o Northern Germany and in particular in the state of Schleswig-Holstein: “In 2021, the Northern region has the worst assessment within DB Netz AG with a condition grade of 3.15”, the report states.
Lübeck-Femern particularly bad
The central routes between Hamburg, Kiel and Flensburg as well as the route between Lübeck and Fehmarn are in a particularly bad condition. Nowhere else are so many facilities rated four or worse than in the so-called Kiel network – which covers almost the entire route network in Schleswig-Holstein. The grade four means that the facility is “bad and has significant weaknesses”.
Modest return
According to the transport minister, the shortcomings in the infrastructure can be seen in daily train cancellations and delays.
– We pay more than 100 million euros in taxes every year – the return is quite modest, writes Claus Ruhe Madsen on the blog.
Will need over 80 billion Euros
According to Phillipp Nagl, the investment backlog on the German railways is well over 80 billion Euros, corresponding to more than 595 billion kroner, nationwide. This applies, for example, to the stretch Lübeck-Büchen. Driving is done here almost every summer at a reduced speed due to hanging tracks.
Madsen cites the AKN network, which belongs to the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, and the privately run NEG as examples of well-functioning railway infrastructure. AKN alone gives us a punctuality of over 98 percent, says Madsen.
Appeal to the federal government
He believes that Germany needs a railway infrastructure that is aimed at the common good, as stipulated in the federal coalition agreements:
– Based on the figures, we appeal to the federal government to restore the particularly bad routes as soon as possible. As a state, we already support the expansion of the railways with significant financial resources, writes Claus Ruhe Madsen on the Ministry of Transport’s blog.
The state parliament last week gave the green light to finance the plans for the extension of the Pinneberg – Elmshorn railway with almost 17 million euros.
