Renovation or new construction: For many years, the federal government and Lower Saxony have been arguing about how the Hamburg-Hannover railway line should be modernized. Now there is a compromise proposal.
Train travelers between Hamburg and Hanover will probably have to wait longer for a comprehensive renovation of the busy route. The federal government and the state of Lower Saxony have agreed to postpone the general renovation planned for 2026 until 2029. This was confirmed by the Lower Saxony Transport Minister Olaf Lies.
Lower Saxony: New building “unrealistic”
His state has now submitted suggestions to the federal government as to how the time until the general renovation can be used most sensibly. The goal is to create “more capacity on the rails as quickly as possible,” said the SPD politician. He still believes that building a new route, which the railways favor, is unrealistic.
For decades there have been disputes about how the modernization of the route on this important north-south axis should be implemented. Essentially, the question is whether only the route via Lüneburg, Uelzen and Celle will be expanded or whether there will be a new route in parallel. Deutsche Bahn considers a new line through the Lüneburg Heath to be necessary in order to create sufficient capacity for more local, long-distance and freight trains.
Federal government: new building for Germany clock necessary
The federal government also favors such a new building – and is apparently sticking to it despite the compromise that has now been reached to postpone the general renovation. The general renovation would bring additional capacity, which could bring short-term improvements for passengers, said a ministry spokesman. “But what is crucial is the question of the capacity required in the future to achieve the ambitious relocation and climate protection goals.”
In particular, the so-called Deutschlandtakt cannot be achieved without new construction. The Germany clock means a more dense, regular frequency of rail connections: the trains should run to the large urban centers and cities every 30 minutes. Answers to how the necessary capacities on the route could be achieved should now be developed in dialogue with the state, municipalities and citizens, said the ministry spokesman.
“Delay poison for growing freight traffic”
From the perspective of the “Allianz pro Schiene” interest group, simply renovating the Hamburg-Hannover railway line is not enough. “The expansion of the existing route can only alleviate the capacity bottlenecks, but not resolve them,” said association managing director Dirk Flege. “Any further delay in the construction of the new Hanover-Hamburg line would be poison not only for the German traffic, but also for the growing freight traffic to the port of Hamburg.” It’s not a matter of either/or. “In fact, we need both: a rapid expansion of the existing route and a new route quickly,” emphasized Flege.