The state and railways reach an agreement
The Hanover-Hamburg high-speed line is not initially available
September 19, 2023, 8:31 p.m
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Bad news for fans of fast rail transfers: The express route between Hanover and Hamburg, which has been controversial for decades, will probably not exist. Bahn and Lower Saxony agree on this. Instead, a slow route is being developed – which leads to other complications.
The construction of a new high-speed line from Hanover to Hamburg, which Deutsche Bahn is aiming for, is becoming more distant. After decades of dispute, the federal government, the state of Lower Saxony and Deutsche Bahn have agreed, according to a report in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ), to first expand the significantly slower existing route via Lüneburg. In order to achieve this expansion, the general renovation of this route, originally planned for 2026, will be expanded and postponed to 2029.
With this proposal, the federal government is meeting the interests of the state of Lower Saxony, which rejects the proposed construction of a new route along the A7. Conversely, according to FAZ information, the federal government has now extracted a promise from Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies to engage in a new dialogue process with the groups involved. In parallel to the general renovation, “we want to work in working groups with the region to develop solutions for the long-term capacity requirements between Hamburg and Hanover,” said the federal government’s rail commissioner, Michael Theurer, to the FAZ.
“Germany clock” in danger
Olaf Lies, however, told the FAZ: “I think the new building, as the railway recently had in mind, is simply not realistic.” However, Lower Saxony is ready “to examine the actual needs again in the broad dialogue – and then, in a further participation process, to possibly talk about a route,” said Lies.
Deutsche Bahn sees the construction of a new high-speed line between Hanover and Hamburg as essential to realizing the planned “Germany cycle”. This regular timetable based on the Swiss model is intended to speed up all passenger traffic in Germany. However, the agreement that has now been reached between the federal government and Lower Saxony could cause the concept to falter.