Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing said the agreement would support “structural change” in the regions. Credit: Deutsche Bahn/Volker Emersleben

Deutsche Bahn (DB) has received government approval for a group of projects that will expand and electrify railway lines in Germany’s coal mining regions, including the double-track expansion of the Cottbus–Görlitz route. 

The €40bn ($43.4bn) agreement signed by DB and Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing covers ten projects in several different regions to improve capacity and decrease journey times across the country. 

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DB CEO Richard Lutz said: “The electrification and double-track expansion of the Cottbus-Görlitz route will create a piece of strong rail that will connect the region with the metropolis of Berlin and its Polish neighbours. 

“With this and the other expansion projects, the planning of which we are now immediately starting, we are making an important contribution to a successful structural change in the country.” 

Other works include planning the 44km northern section of the Leipzig – Chemnitz line between Bad Lausick and Geithan, which is set to be electrified and expanded to two tracks.

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Projects outlined under the agreement will also see work on the S-Bahn networks in Leipzig-Merseburg and the Rhenish mining area, and upgrades to the Aachen-Cologne line, the Naumburg-Halle line, and the Graustein-Spreewitz route. 

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The announcement continued DB’s wide-ranging investments into Germany’s rail network through a “general renovation” as it seeks to address ageing infrastructure caused by years of neglect and slow-moving renovations. 

Wissing said: “Structural change in the name of climate protection requires concrete offers and perspectives for the regions most affected by the change. The Federal Government is therefore supporting structural change in the former coal mining regions with up to €40bn. 

“The transport projects that are financed from this are important in order to bring new companies, new jobs and thus new perspectives and opportunities to the region.” 

While DB did not say when the ten projects under the latest agreement would begin, the company is currently trialling a new way of completing renovation works with a five-month closure of the Frankfurt-Mannheim line. 

The company is hoping that long closures of entire railway lines will allow work to be completed quicker than by shorter, periodic closures meaning works can last years.