The Hermann Hesse Railway: Another delay until 2026!

The Hermann Hesse Railway: Another delay until 2026!

The reactivated Hermann Hesse Railway between Calw and Weil der Stadt is a long time coming. Again Government Gazette reported, the start of the rail connection has been postponed again. The new planned start of operations is now scheduled for January 2024, but the first section of operations will only take place between Calw and Weil der Stadt.

One reason for this delay is the installation of the signaling systems, which cannot be installed until May 2024. Until then, only S-Bahn services will temporarily serve the route between Weil der Stadt and Renningen. The planned construction work between Calw and Weil der Stadt is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of December 2023. This is followed by several weeks of test and acceptance runs before the railway can finally be put into operation.

When does it finally start?

With the last passenger train running in 1983 and the Federal Railway finally ceasing operations in 1988, many remembered better times. The Hermann Hesse Railway, which opened in 1872, is now considered a pioneering project to reactivate disused railway lines in the southwest. The original plans called for the opening in 2018. But the cost estimate has now more than doubled from initially around 60 million euros to over 207 million euros. The main reason for the rising costs is extensive conservation measures for bats that live in two tunnels. These measures burden the project budget with around 80 million euros.

A tunnel-in-tunnel concept has been approved to ensure a solution to protect bats. The special tunnels can be found not only in Calw, but also in Wildberg and were recently visited by representatives of the Hermann-Hesse-Bahn association.

Nationwide perspective

However, the challenges facing the Hermann Hesse Railway are not unique. The federal government plans to significantly expand rail transport throughout Germany by 2030. The aim is to double the transport performance of rail passenger transport and increase the share of rail freight transport to 25%. Loud VDV The reactivation of Baden-Württemberg railway lines, such as the Hermann-Hesse Railway, is a crucial step towards shifting traffic from road to rail and better connecting rural regions.

A total of 325 railway lines nationwide with a total length of 5,426 km are proposed for reactivation, which will benefit around 3.8 million residents. The positive results of feasibility studies show how important and necessary these projects are and confirm a national interest in maintaining railway lines. While the Hermann Hesse Railway is waiting to be launched, the entire southwest is watching eagerly to see whether this pioneering project will usher in the urgently needed turnaround in rail transport.