Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German railway company and infrastructure manager, has started a major renovation of one of its busiest corridors.
The Frankfurt-Mannheim route will undergo a five-month process, with long-distance and freight services being diverted and replacement buses being deployed for shorter passenger services.
The line, known as the Riedbahn, is considered to be “particularly susceptible to disruption” and is therefore a prime target for modernisation.
Over the next five months, with the target completion date at the end of November, DB will lay 117 kilometers of track, replace at least 15 kilometers of noise barriers and 140 kilometers of overhead lines. Control signals and safety equipment will also be upgraded, DB said.
Approximately 16,000 passengers use the line daily. To limit the inconvenience for commuters, the journeys are operated by a new fleet of DB buses.
When the public returns to the stations on the line in southwest Germany, they will visit 20 renovated and modernised stations.
The selected stations will be “future-proofed” with updated passenger information services and “friendly and clearly designed underpasses” between platforms. New accessible ramps and lifts will be added where necessary.
“The Riedbahn marks a turning point: we are building a new and better railway line – for our customers and for a modern, sustainable Germany. I am pleased that it is finally getting underway. We are starting where the burden is greatest: the Riedbahn is one of the busiest railway lines in Germany,” said DB CEO Richard Lutz
But German Transport Minister Volker Wissing put increasing pressure on the work and DB, even as major work began.
“All of Germany is looking at the Riedbahn. The expectations of commuters, long-distance travellers and freight transport customers, who currently suffer daily from the poor condition of the network, are rightly high given the enormous investments, but also the restrictions they have to accept during the closure,” said Wissing.
“A new renovation and modernisation concept will be implemented in the next 152 days so that the decades-long renovation backlog can be quickly eliminated. The federal government has created all the conditions for this – both legally and financially. The railways must now implement this successfully – first on the Riedbahn, then throughout Germany.”
The renovations and upgrades of passenger stations and the rail lines are expected to cost €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion). It is expected that once the intensive five-month process is complete, no more “major” works will be required on the 70km line for at least five years.
“Deutsche Bahn starts renovation of busy Frankfurt-Mannheim line” was originally created and published by Railway technologya brand of GlobalData.
The information on this site is included in good faith for general information purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely and we make no representation, warranty or guarantee, express or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
