Vehicle congestion - Increased punctuality on railways: Wissing emphasizes refurbishment efforts
Before starting a massive refurbishment of crucial railway tracks, German Minister of Transport Volker Wissing encouraged railway customers by promising significant enhancements. In an interview with dpa, he stated, "We'll invest billions over the next few years to rejuvenate major lines, eliminating sudden construction zones that result in delays and numerous issues."
The first of these updates will focus on the Riedbahn, connecting Frankfurt and Mannheim, which will shut down two months post-European Football Championship in mid-July until mid-December. Additionally, the goal by 2030 is to renovate a total of 40 congested rail lines in Germany, enabling trains to run consistently once more.
Following refurbishment, it "will practically be devoid of disruptions," according to Wissing. He explained, "For every revamped corridor, I presumptuously assume it'll be nearly disruption-free thereafter." If there's no train disruption, no delays will occur. "Of course, natural factors like extreme weather can cause complications, but they're rare occurrences. The rail network's primary issue is that it's in poor condition, resulting in perpetual infrastructure concerns. Indeed, setting up construction zones on the tracks has enormous ramifications on the complete system."
Closing a corridor for five months is a substantial network invasion, yet it may ensure decades of punctual train operation.
"The stand-in transport will be nearly like a deluxe stand-in transport"
Wissing assessed the Riedbahn and stated, "The stand-in transport will be almost like a lush substitute bus experience" compared to the regular substitute transport. "There'll be buses with top-notch equipment, with toilets, wireless internet, and so on, so that customers can feel contented during these five months and then return when the train is operational again to run punctually." As a business, the railway has an incentive to maintain its customers while the line is closed.
The Riedbahn is the biggest problem in the rail network, which warrants its prompt resolution. "We're going to target it initially," stated Wissing. "It's the busiest pathway in Germany. There's also significant international transit traffic and all the north-south traffic. This line is in severely poor condition." Near-daily disruptions are the norm. "You could say that this main line is only accessible for train traffic to a very restricted extent." After renovation and installing new technology, this line will be restored and ready for use (if no issues arise).
"Naturally, it's the same with everything you renovate, you expect that you won't have to perform major repairs afterwards. That's what leads to an immediate improvement as soon as the track is reopened." The line is scheduled to reopen in time for Christmas traffic and, "we presume that we can have a disruption-free operation there, similar to any new line."
