Southern Palatinate in view of floods: Prioritize the Landau-Germersheim railway line!

Southern Palatinate in view of floods: Prioritize the Landau-Germersheim railway line!

In the Southern Palatinate, things are being tackled together - a motto that the districts of Südliche Weinstraße and Germersheim as well as the city of Landau are currently keeping in mind. In a recent working meeting between District Administrator Dietmar Seefeldt (SÜW), District Administrator Martin Brandl (GER) and Mayor Dominik Geißler (Landau), the focus was on important topics such as flood protection and the reactivation of disused railway lines. Flood protection in particular requires close cooperation, as the three city and district leaders unanimously emphasize. Waters have no boundaries and that is why an exchange meeting under the leadership of the Germersheim district will take place in August to discuss partnerships in flood management, as wochenblatt-reporter.de reports.

But rail is also currently receiving a lot of attention. The recommissioning of disused routes is very popular, with the connection between Landau and Germersheim being considered the most promising project. A recent feasibility study brings good news: a benefit-cost ratio of 1.86 speaks in favor of reactivating the route, which means that the investments will pay off in the best case scenario. These findings were also presented at the association meeting of the Rhineland-Palatinate South Local Public Transport Association, see above suedliche-weinstrasse.de.

New framework conditions for rail reactivation

“There’s something going on here!” One could say, because last year the federal government dramatically adjusted the criteria for evaluating and financing public transport projects on rail. These new standards are likely to be important for a large number of reactivations. The reactivation of the route between Landau and Germersheim could also be profitable under the new conditions and at the same time make a positive contribution to the region's transport infrastructure. Detailed planning for the project is now taking place, and those responsible for the city of Landau and the districts see the reactivation as a great benefit for the citizens, who will benefit from faster connections.

However, there are also critical voices: local politicians are dissatisfied with the delay that has occurred over the last two years. It is obvious that the urgency to revive the railway lines calls both the state government and local politicians responsible. It would be desirable to show more pragmatism when prioritizing reactivation projects, as the district administrators and the mayor strongly note.

A look at the future of rail

If you look beyond the region, it is clear that the federal government has big plans to significantly expand rail transport by 2030. With the aim of both doubling rail passenger transport performance and increasing the share of rail freight transport to 25%, the reactivation of disused routes will be a central component of this strategy. These measures are not only crucial for climate protection, but also for sustainable mobility in rural areas, where many medium-sized centers are currently without rail connections, as vdv.de explains.

The reactivation of railway lines therefore holds great potential – both for the citizens of the region and for the entire country. It remains to be seen what the next steps in implementing the plans will be and whether the appeal to the state government will be heard. However, the common path in the Southern Palatinate shows that we can achieve a lot together if we pull together.