Goals until 2027 remain the same: Infrago boss Nagl: Large new railway buildings are impossible

Goals until 2027 remain the same
Infrago boss Nagl: Large new railway buildings are impossible

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After the long neglect of the infrastructure, something should be done at Deutsche Bahn. However, large leaps are hardly possible given the lack of capital. The head of the network company Infrago is rejecting new buildings on a large scale. Other things have priority.

The head of the Deutsche Bahn network company (DB Infrago), Philipp Nagl, sees little scope for large-scale expansion and new construction projects. “If we are already short of money to keep 33,000 kilometers of route in good condition, then it doesn’t get any easier with every additional kilometer,” Nagl told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ). First of all, the existing network must be adequately financed, emphasized the 42-year-old manager, who comes from Austria. The federal transport infrastructure plan “always contains more projects than are ultimately implemented,” he added.

These projects include major projects such as the Frankfurt long-distance rail tunnel, whose construction is scheduled to start in the 2030s and be put into operation in the 2040s. Nagl did not comment specifically on this. However, he pointed out that new lines, especially tunnels, are very expensive to operate: “This is often underestimated.” Even the railway-friendly Swiss were discussing this very intensively. “Of course we are building important expansion and new construction projects,” said Nagl. However, small and medium-sized measures are also used to quickly expand capacity. They want to create more than 200 by the end of 2027.

Regarding the shaky railway financing in the medium term, Nagl said that so far the funds have been negotiated year after year. There is now planning security for three years. “We also hope and plan as if we could continue at this medium level in 2028 and 2029.” Of course, that is uncertain at this point.

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