Deutsche Bahn (DB) has launched the electrification of the Eifel railway line between Hürth-Kalscheuren and Trier-Ehrang for which EUR 500 million investment is provided by the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The representatives of Deutsche Bahn and politicians gave the official start signal for the work on October 28, 2024, in Kyllburg.
“Three years after the flood, we have largely rebuilt the Eifel route. Now we are taking a further step: We are ensuring that diesel in train traffic between Hürth-Kalscheuren and Trier-Ehrang will soon be a thing of the past. With a more environmentally friendly and reliable service, we want to convince more people to switch to rail,” DB Infrastructure Director, Berthold Huber, said.
When electrification is completed, trains will run on the 164 km line ensuring passengers with greater punctuality and reliability.
“Projects like these are important decisions for the federal government’s plan to achieve a 75 percent electrification rate in the nationwide rail network by 2030. At the same time, they contribute to the goal of further developing local public transport set out in the coalition agreement of the Rhineland-Palatinate state government. The electrification of the Eifel route will strengthen local public transport in the long term and make a decisive contribution to achieving climate neutrality in the transport sector,” said the Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy and Mobility of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Katrin Eder.
In the coming years, DB will be installing 300 km of overhead wire and 10ten traction power systems on the Eifel railway. It will also be renewing numerous tracks and switches and adapting 56 bridges and ten tunnels to make room for the new overhead lines and trains. The first sections of the route are expected to be technically completed by 2026.
The flood disaster in the summer of 2021 had almost completely devastated the Eifel rail route on numerous sections in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. In many places, reconstruction was like building a new line. In addition to the route with tracks, sleepers and ballast, 170 bridges and culverts as well as 24 level crossings also had to be renewed.
The electrification of Eifel railway is part of DB’s S3 restructuring programme focusing on the improvement of the existing network. The aim is for DB to become more punctual, reliable and profitable again. This creates a stable basis for the further growth path of the “Strong Rail” strategy, which is aimed at significantly increasing the number of passengers and the market share of the climate-friendly railway.
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