German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) has shut down one of the country’s main rail corridors for a planned, €1.3bn “fundamental overhaul” to improve trains’ punctuality and capacity.
The unprecedented intervention comes after the company was forced to apologise for widespread delays and cancellations experienced by thousands of football fans in the opening phase of the Euro 2024 football championship.
Among frustrated passengers was the Netherlands coach, Ronald Koeman, who complained his team couldn’t return after playing Austria in Berlin because of cancellations.
On Monday, DB shut the 70km corridor between Frankfurt/Main and Mannheim, a stretch known as the “Riedbahn”, for five months to modernise its superstructure, soundproof walls and signalling technology.
And, in a first for DB, 20 stations on the line will be upgraded at the same time.
“With the general renovation of the Riedbahn, Deutsche Bahn is bundling all planned construction measures for the coming years within a line closure for the first time on a busy corridor,” the company said.
Crews will refurbish around 117 track kilometres, 152 points, and 140 kilometres of overhead line.
The Riedbahn is part of a main north-south route that connects Hamburg and Cologne with Stuttgart and Basel, Switzerland.
More than 300 regional, long-distance and freight trains use it every day, notes DW.
The closure, which is set to last until 14 December, affects more than 75,000 daily passengers, DW adds.
It said all regional trains will be replaced by buses, and long-distance trains will be diverted through slower routes.
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