ALBAWABA - Germany is embarking on a significant railway modernization project, starting with the closure of one of its busiest lines. The 70-kilometer stretch between Frankfurt and Mannheim, which handles over 300 trains daily, will be shut down for five months beginning Monday. This closure is part of a broader initiative by Deutsche Bahn, the state-owned railway operator, to revitalize Germany's often unreliable rail network.
The Frankfurt-Mannheim route, a crucial north-south artery connecting major cities like Hamburg and Cologne with Stuttgart and Basel, Switzerland, has long been a source of delays that ripple through the entire system. During the closure, regional trains will be replaced by buses, while long-distance services will be rerouted.
With an investment of 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion), this overhaul marks the beginning of an ambitious plan to modernize 40 railway stretches across Germany by 2030. The goal is to enhance the reliability of a network that has frequently underperformed, as evidenced by recent frustrations during the European Championship soccer tournament.
Railway. (Shutterstock)
Transport Minister Volker Wissing acknowledged the inherited challenges, citing decades of underinvestment in railway infrastructure. He emphasized the government's commitment to investing "enormous sums" in the railway system, marking a historic shift in infrastructure priorities.
This comprehensive modernization effort aims to address long-standing issues and transform Germany's railway network into a more efficient and dependable transportation system for the future.
