DB announces that the construction work for the Riedbahn has been completed.
One week before the completion of the general renovation of the Riedbahn between Frankfurt/Main and Mannheim, Deutsche Bahn has completed all construction work. In addition to tracks, switches, signals, noise barriers and contact wires, the overhead lines and all platforms were also completed on time. The relevant commissioning and acceptance tests are well advanced, so that the Riedbahn will be open to long-distance, regional and freight trains again as planned from Sunday after a five-month full closure.
The acceptance and reactivation of the overhead line have already taken place, as have the final measurements and the acceptance of the superstructure. This week, the acceptance of the telecommunications and electrical systems and the commissioning of the traffic stations will also take place. Load and test runs will also take place. The commissioning of the signal box technology in the northern area of the Riedbahn is well advanced. Work is continuing at full speed on the commissioning of the signal box technology in the southern section of the route.
In long-distance traffic, all trains will travel according to the timetable on the Riedbahn when the service is restarted. In local traffic, the high-demand lines RE70 Frankfurt/M-Mannheim and the S7 Frankfurt/M-Riedstadt Goddelau will run in full. In total, more than 95 percent of customers in long-distance and regional traffic will be able to use the trains on the Riedbahn again from December 15th.
The first train to run on the tracks as scheduled on the night of December 15th will be a freight train. To ensure stable operations and to carry out any minor corrections and remaining work that may be required, the number of freight trains on the Riedbahn will be gradually increased to full capacity by December 23rd. The companies along the route are already being supplied directly via the new tracks. The current replacement services will continue to run on the regional train lines RB 62 Worms-Biblis and RB 63 Worms-Bensheim until December 23rd, before the regional lines resume operations on December 24th.
In order to complete the commissioning of the sidings in the southern section of the route and to offer a reliable timetable, the S8 Biblis-Mannheim and the S9 Groß-Rohrheim-Mannheim will start operating on January 13, 2025. Until then, the replacement buses of the S91 line will continue to run in addition to the RE70. From January 13, 2025, all trains will run according to the regular timetable again.
The Riedbahn is one of the busiest routes in Germany. The infrastructure on the route is too old, too prone to failure and too full in the past, which has led to disruptions on the Riedbahn spreading throughout the entire network. Deutsche Bahn has therefore completely renovated the route over the past five months in a completely new approach. As part of the general renovation, a total of 1,500 kilometers of track in the heavily used network are to be renewed and modernized according to this model by 2027. The general renovation is an elementary part of the overall S3 program, with which DB will be renovating not only the infrastructure but also the operations and profitability of the group over the next three years.
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