Stuttgart 21 dispute - Kretschmann asks Chancellor to put his foot down on railroads
In the dispute over the expansion of digitalization in the Bahnproject Stuttgart 21, Baden-Württemberg's Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) hopes for a decisive word from Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). In a letter, it is stated that the implementation of the project "Digital Node Stuttgart" is currently at risk of failing. Without this project, the capacity and performance enhancements in the entire region would not be possible, as previously reported by "Spiegel" and "SWR".
Background of the long-standing controversy between the Federal Government, the Railway, and the State is a debate about the urgently necessary digitalization of the railway in Stuttgart. With the so-called Digital Node Stuttgart (DKS), capacity at the tunnel station is to be increased, and in a further step, the S-Bahn in the Stuttgart area may be made more reliable and punctual. The implementation of this project is uncertain. The railway board initially stopped the digital project by committee vote. Kretschmann's criticism is addressed to "dear Olaf" in the letter, which was obtained by dpa.
"In this context, I find it alarming that the DB refers to the fact that the commissioning of Stuttgart 21 is also possible with the currently ongoing first two construction phases," writes Kretschmann in the letter. "But only Building Phase 3 closes the realization of capacity-enhancing elements." Without it, the node cannot fulfill its promises. In addition, crucial insights for the implementation of further node projects in Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Munich were missing.
In the letter, the Green politician accuses the heavily indebted railway of pursuing its own plans with the reserved federal budget funds: "In our opinion, the DB is attempting to divert the funds reserved for this purpose to the maintenance of the existing network." And further: "With all understanding for the high priority of the existing network, this important future investment in the 'Digital Rail' should not be sacrificed in the poker game over scarce funds."
The Stuttgart 21 project is not just about building the new main railway station in the state capital, but about the complete restructuring of the Stuttgart railway node. About two weeks ago, the German Railway announced the commissioning of the project again, this time for December 2026. The new deep-level station was previously scheduled to go into operation in December 2025.
- Winfried Kretschmann, the Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, is hoping for a decisive word from Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding the digitalization of the Stuttgart 21 Bahnproject.
- The current implementation of the "Digital Node Stuttgart" project is at risk of failing, as stated in a letter, which could hinder capacity and performance enhancements in the entire region.
- In a long-standing controversy between the Federal Government, the Railway, and the State, the debate centers around the urgently necessary digitalization of the railway in Stuttgart.
- The so-called Digital Node Stuttgart (DKS) aims to increase capacity at the tunnel station, making the S-Bahn in the Stuttgart area more reliable and punctual.
- Olaf Scholz, as the Federal Chancellor, might have a significant impact on the future of the DKS project, considering Kretschmann's concerns about the DB's intentions.
- Without the completion of Building Phase 3, the German Railway (DB) might not achieve the capacity-enhancing elements promised by the Digital Node Stuttgart.
- Kretschmann criticizes the DB for attempting to divert funds reserved for digitalization projects to the maintenance of the existing network, risking investments in the 'Digital Rail'.
