Will Wissing’s general renovation bring about a turning point?

Recently, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra arrived late for their own concert due to an hour-long delay on the Deutsche Bahn. It is one of many examples that now show that traveling with Deutsche Bahn can hardly be planned anymore. The punctuality of the ICE and Intercity has declined rapidly over the past two years.

This is mainly due to the dilapidated rail network. Transport Minister Wissing now wants to take countermeasures with the general renovation of the 40 most important rail corridors. By 2030, the routes are to be completely closed and completely renewed for six months at a time. Will this bring about a turnaround for the railway?

In our “3 on 1” series, three experts give their assessment. All episodes of “3 on 1” can be found here.

The renovation is the start of a new era

Berthold Huber is board member for infrastructure at Deutsche Bahn AG. He is convinced, The general renovation of 40 rail corridors will be successful if everyone pulls together.

For us, the general renovation of the highly polluted rail corridors is more than just a turning point. It will be the start of a new era. Together with the federal government, the railway industry and the construction industry, we have launched the largest infrastructure program since the railway reform in 1994.

We are united by a common goal: to make train traffic more punctual in the long term in order to achieve transport and climate policy goals. We want to double passenger transport performance and increase the market share in rail freight transport to 25 percent.

The future, 9,000 kilometer long high-performance network is our central lever for a better offer. To this end, we will renovate a total of 40 sections of the route by 2030. We upgrade train stations to become train stations of the future. This will be a feat that we all have respect for. But there is no alternative to tackling the renovation backlog. I firmly believe that this feat of strength will succeed if we pull together with all partners in the construction and rail industries.

No more salami tactics when building

Dirk Flege is managing director of the lobby association Allianz pro Schiene. He calls for the renovation of the existing routes Don’t forget the expansion.

Construction sites are annoying. Especially if they last several months. What’s even more annoying, however, are constantly delayed trains. If there’s one thing we no longer need on rail, it’s a salami tactic at construction sites. The general renovations by 2030 should proceed thoroughly rather than piecemeal. And afterwards things will be noticeably better for passengers and freight customers.

However, general renovations are not a panacea for rail systems that have been neglected for decades. A reliable existing network is a central component of the Deutschlandtakt – that is, the promise that people and goods can reach their destinations throughout the country with faster frequencies and reliable connections.

But we don’t just need renovated infrastructure, we also need more tracks so that the railway can move more people and goods. Routes that are particularly in demand must be expanded or newly built, and disused routes must be reactivated in the area. Only all of this together promises a real change.

Many questions are open

Peter Westenberger is managing director of the Freight Railways Association. He finds that Deutsche Bahn the general renovation was poorly prepared.

The fact that Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) is pledging around 40 billion euros more for rail is an extremely big step. This is the security needed to make passenger and freight trains reliable and more attractive. And closing 15 percent of the network for five months for renovation and upgrading is better than single-track closures and 1:1 replacement. However, how and for what the funds will flow, when and what will be built is less clear than Deutsche Bahn and the ministry suggest. And whether the concept works, even more so.

The level of preparation is causing alarm among practitioners: not a single diversion route should be expanded in time. The simultaneous construction and expansion of the network is undersized.

A better coordinated and quick renovation of the 85 percent of the remaining network is not in sight. And efficient support for the DB in implementing all the money is in the offing, because even the small traffic light rail reform is not making any progress.