Deutsche Bahn (DB) has completed a five-year renovation of the high-speed line between Hanover and Würzburg in Germany with 557km of track having undergone renewal. 

Work on the modernisation project began in 2019 and has included track, sleeper, and switch renewals – as well as superstructure repairs and subsurface stabilisation. 

Dr Philipp Nagl, CEO of DB InfraGO, the company’s infrastructure and station management subsidiary, said: “For the common good, we have invested €850m here in five years and taken a big step towards a strong railway in Germany. 

“Our construction teams have completely renovated the entire line and parts of the Rauheberg tunnel. This enables greater reliability for passengers and freight traffic, not just on this section, but across the entire network." 

Across the 327km line, DB and its subsidiaries replaced or renewed 700,000 sleepers and 235 switches; and conducted repairs on 49 bridges and 63 tunnels, beginning with the Hanover to Göttingen section in June 2019 and finishing with work on the Kassel Fulda section last week. 

The renovation project has finished just over a month before work begins on DB’s next major modernisation of the Frankfurt to Mannheim line, which will see the company trial its new five-month renovation method at full scale for the first time. 

The new method will see DB close the entire line for one intensive period of work that will see years of work and partial closures condensed into one five-month timeframe. 

Following the renovation of the Hanover–Würzburg line, DB InfraGo will work on a €16.4bn comprehensive infrastructure programme that will include the renewal of a further 2,000km of track and renovations in 1,000 stations.