- New river bridge completed - further extension of the eastern line required
More than three and a half years of problems for commuters are finally over, as a train of the Ostbahn RB 26 is running again between the Polish Kostrzyn and the Brandenburgian Küstrin-Kietz. The new bridge over the Oder is now open for cross-border train traffic after construction works were completed in the early morning.
The section of the track was closed with the change of the timetable in December 2020, and replacement buses were running since then. The travel time was significantly prolonged. The original completion date was postponed several times. Corona, lack of skilled workers, and material shortages were among the reasons, according to the Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn.
The Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn operates the Ostbahn RB26 on behalf of the states of Brandenburg and Berlin as part of the Ostbrandenburg network. The new 260-meter-long bridge over the Oder - the world's first network arch bridge with carbon hangers - is now open for two-way traffic at speeds up to 120 kilometers per hour. The journey time has been reduced by about two minutes.
From Berlin to Poland and back
For the industrial associations in Poland and Ostbrandenburg, the expansion of the track to the Polish city of Gorzów is a major concern. They demand the electrification and the addition of a second track for the entire route from Berlin to Gorzów. "Unfortunately, the Ostbahn is still treated as a regional railway on the German side," says Robert Radzimanowski of the IHK Ostbrandenburg. Here, a huge potential for freight and passenger traffic from Western Europe to the Baltic region remains untapped.
Germany is the country that is holding up the pace, according to the IHK. On the Polish side, the tracks have long been laid. The plans for the two-track, electrified expansion of the Kostrzyn nad Odrą to Krzyż Wielkopolski route are completed. Poland has also registered the route in the Transeuropean Network (TEN) and applied for funding.
Germany lags behind Poland
On the German side, the expansion of the Ostbahn is still in the early planning phase. "Currently, DB InfraGO is preparing the feasibility study on behalf of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg," a spokesperson for the Brandenburg Ministry of Transport said upon request. In December 2023, the Ostbahn was included in the "potential need" of the Rail Demand Plan. This means that the expansion of the Ostbahn falls under the federal government's responsibility and would also be funded by the federal government. The Brandenburg Ministry of Transport is pushing for the Ostbahn to be upgraded to the "urgent need" category.
Brandenburg's Minister of Transport, Rainer Genilke (CDU), said a few months ago: "What we need is a two-track, electrified route." The route is an important transport artery as a transeuropean corridor. "This has something to do with the settlement of Tesla, but also with the demand for skilled workers from the west Polish region." The Regional Express RE 1 Berlin - Frankfurt (Oder), which runs parallel, is gradually reaching its capacity limit.
The states of Berlin and Brandenburg, as well as the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB), are pushing for the federal government to finance the expansion of the RB 26. However, the financing is not yet secure. According to a study for the VBB, the expansion of the Ostbahn from Berlin to Küstrin-Kietz could cost up to 1.3 billion euros in two stages - by 2036 and thereafter.
The demand for electrification and addition of a second track on the Ostbahn RB26 route, extending to the Polish city of Gorzów, is a significant concern for industrial associations in both Poland and Ostbrandenburg. Unfortunately, as Robert Radzimanowski from the IHK Ostbrandenburg pointed out, the Ostbahn is still treated as a regional railway on the German side, which hampers its full potential for freight and passenger traffic from Western Europe to the Baltic region.
Despite the laid tracks and completed plans for the electrification and two-track expansion on the Polish side, the expansion of the Ostbahn in Germany is still in the early planning phase. The upgrading of the Ostbahn to the "urgent need" category is being sought by the Brandenburg Ministry of Transport to shift the responsibility and funding to the federal government, as the Route is an important transport artery and has implications for the settlement of Tesla and the demand for skilled workers from the west Polish region.
