Back to the power grid?: Associations are calling for the reactivation of disused railway routes

Around 12,500 inhabitants of Brunsbüttel in the West of Schleswig-Holstein. The port city on the Elbe is an important industrial center, especially for the chemical industry. Among other things, the plastic manufacturer Covestro has here a work.

There are plans for a new Terminal for liquefied natural gas. Only a train station for commuters and visitors to Brunsbüttel has not. In 1988, the 14-Kilometer-long connection to the neighbouring town of Wilster was set. Since then only freight trains travel there. Passengers on the Bus and leave.

According to the Association of German transport companies (VDV) and the German pro-Rail Alliance, then those should go in addition to stretch as soon as possible back to the grid. In Germany you have almost 240 Connections for passenger and for freight transport is identified, which were eventually decommissioned, but reactivated could be. More than 50 of them have been added in the past twelve months. The updated Plan, the two associations presented on Thursday in Berlin.

The reactivation of all of these receive, in addition to routes, so you are convinced, could total more than three million people a direct access to the rail network. More than 4000 kilometres of Rail would be added. “All of the projects for which the rail transport in recent years has been reactivated, are positive,” said Jörgen Boße, VDV-expert on rail infrastructure. Previously had often been exceeded for the usage. From the point of view of the associations, the reactivation of the routes is necessary to allow in the future a climate-friendly transport.

Finally, the Federal government and the rail industry plan to double in the next ten years, the number of passengers on the Rail. At the same time the railway is to grow share of the freight traffic from the current 19 to 25 percent. The so-called Germany, the clock is considered to be the most important Instrument to achieve this goal. He provides a denser frequency on the trunk routes between the major cities. But above all, he aims to ensure a better and range fills the gap in access in the rural areas.

“To be able to these, Germany clock, we need to reactivate routes,” said Dirk Flege, managing Director of the Association pro-Rail Alliance. “A number of routes that we propose are also deposited in the target timetable of the German land measure.”

The Federal Ministry of transport declared that the reactivation of disused routes for the portfolio of a major concern. This could give the regional transport pulses and, furthermore, bottlenecks in other Parts of the network to compensate for. The decision for a reactivation of rail routes in transport is the responsibility of the countries or for the rail transport competent authorities for investment in various sources of financing of the Federal government were available.

It is clear that, in view of the constantly growing passenger the current rail infrastructure is arrived numbers already at the load limit. Too often, goods and passenger traffic in the way. Delays, dissatisfied customers and a barely growing share of rail freight traffic are the result.

In the past decades, the rail network has been to thousands of kilometers built. Only in the past few years, this Trend has been stopped. In 2019, the total length of the network in Germany seemed to be data of the German pro-Rail Alliance, according to 33.291 kilometers – roughly as much as in the previous three years. “The reactivation of disused routes have an important share,” is care convinced.

It will show that some of the track closure had been in the past a serious mistake, says Green transport policy Matthias Gastel. “Now it would be for many of the regions a Chance to be back on the Railways. With Track reactivations, the train comes back into the area.” The Federal government had finally to accelerate the planning processes in railway transport.

In the past twelve months, approximately 106 kilometres of new Track have been reactivated, most of which are for passenger transport. Especially smaller cities and regions were connected in this way, again, to the rail network. For example, the distance between the municipality Engstingen (district of Reutlingen) and Gammertingen (district of Sigma was in the state of Baden-Württemberg rings) back to the grid. Also, in lower Saxony, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, goods and passenger lines in operation.

The Deutsche Bahn to take a look at the proposals of the two associations has always been accurate and was just a total plan for the reactivation of the secondary lines, said a spokeswoman for the Federal group. This should be available in the coming weeks. And also, the Federal government has taken up the theme: For some time he promotes reactivation projects with their own resources. Only for the transport of goods, it does not give such a promotion has criticised Flege.

In addition, the local authorities are now asked: you should check the proposed routes, especially on its economic Benefits and as soon as they become active.