Return after years: thousands benefit from old railway lines!

Return after years: thousands benefit from old railway lines!

Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Deutschland - The reactivation of disabled railway lines could give thousands of people back access to the Federal Rail network. According to a current list of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) and Allianz Pro Schiene, over 320 routes with more than 5,400 kilometers in length would be considered for recovery. Around 3.8 million people in a good 380 cities could benefit from this step, which would significantly strengthen the regional economy, said VDV specialist Martin Henke.

The associations are calling for a significantly faster procedure: not a single kilometer was reactivated last year, while around 30 kilometers are planned this year - 200 kilometers are already being sought for 2025. The federal government supports the reactivation costs up to 90 percent via the municipal traffic financing law and has recently doubled the funds to around two billion euros. Nevertheless, the associations are demanding an increase to three billion euros to further accelerate the implementation of the projects. More details on this topic can be found in a recent article www.borkenerzeitung.de .