DB to build Germany's new tunnel

[YorkRailFan]

Deutsche Bahn (DB) will build Germany’s longest railway tunnel in the Eastern Ore Mountains of Saxony, announced the German news agency dpa on Monday. DB is scheduled to break ground in 2032, and construction of this 30-kilometre tunnel, connecting Germany to the Czech Republic, is estimated to take 12 years.

This tunnel would increase the current capacity of the existing Elbe Valley route for both passenger and freight transport via rail, offering a flood-proof alternative. It would also shorten journey times between Dresden to Prague from just under two and a half hours to one hour, reports German media Süeddeutsche Zeitung. The route between these two cities is part of a European rail corridor connecting German North Sea and Baltic Sea ports through southeast Europe to Istanbul and Athens.

Out of several considered options a single, 30-kilometre-long full tunnel between Heidenau (a town about 15 kilometres southeast of Dresden) on the German side and Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic, is now favoured, announced DB. Around 46 kilometres of new tracks are to be built, according to press agency dpa. This would be the longest tunnel in Germany by over a dozen kilometres, as currently, the longest railway tunnel in Germany is the 10.8-kilometre Landrücken Tunnel in Hesse. In contrast, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel between the north of Germany and Denmark, currently under construction, will be about 18 kilometres long.According to DB, the full-tunnelling option was also more popular with local residents, and community dialogue is planned from January on. Two parallel tunnel tubes are to be driven through the eastern Ore Mountains, each single-track, to be used by both passenger and goods trains. On the German side, constructing the new tunnel also includes upgrading the line between Dresden and Heidenau. The preferred option is to be finalised in the middle of next year and the documents will then be submitted to the Bundestag. A decision on implementation and financing can then be made at the end of the legislative period.

I'm not going to make the DB joke saying its going to be delayed, as all projects are usually delayed. But Germany can build a new rail line semi-efficiently, sadly the UK can't.

 

[Fragezeichnen]

As long as they get the crack team of tunnel experts from Stuttgart21 on the case, success is assured.

 

[CdBrux]

. But Germany can build a new rail line semi-efficiently

As they haven't got anywhere near starting it you cannot possibly say that

 

[stuu]

Given they were planning on opening the Mannhein-Frankfurt NBS in 2008 I will believe it when it happens

 

[YorkRailFan]

As they haven't got anywhere near starting it you cannot possibly say that

In the past.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I'm not going to make the DB joke saying its going to be delayed, as all projects are usually delayed. But Germany can build a new rail line semi-efficiently, sadly the UK can't.

I'd expect the Czechs will have some part in the project, as it's bound to be jointly funded (as was the original Elbe valley route).
It's another highly scenic line that will be replaced by a blank 15 minutes in a tunnel, but the old route will probably remain for local traffic and freight.

 

[YorkRailFan]

I'd expect the Czechs will have some part in the project, as it's bound to be jointly funded (as was the original Elbe valley route).
It's another highly scenic line that will be replaced by a blank 15 minutes in a tunnel, but the old route will probably remain for local traffic and freight.

Similar to the new tunnel in Semmering, Austria.

 

[nwales58]

Although Stuttgart 21 is an overdue over budget mess, look at the scale of what is being delivered.

If Manchester had an underground through station with tunnels all the way from Stockport or the airport as well as Guide Bridge and Salford plus new HSLs approaching along the M62 and M56 we would be thrilled.

Or Birmingham gaining New St Low Level with tunnel approaches from Stechford, Tyseley, Soho, Balsall Heath and Washwood Heath.

That is the scale of Stuttgart 21.

 

[duesselmartin]

unlike the UK, Germany build and completed more than one HS line to date

 

[CdBrux]

unlike the UK, Germany build and completed more than one HS line to date

they have a more, to my mind, sensible way of doing it by building relatively short sections at a time. But that's probably not a topic for this thread

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Nov 2023 ==

Although Stuttgart 21 is an overdue over budget mess, look at the scale of what is being delivered.

If Manchester had an underground through station with tunnels all the way from Stockport or the airport as well as Guide Bridge and Salford plus new HSLs approaching along the M62 and M56 we would be thrilled.

Or Birmingham gaining New St Low Level with tunnel approaches from Stechford, Tyseley, Soho, Balsall Heath and Washwood Heath.

That is the scale of Stuttgart 21.

I suspect Stuttgart 21 will unlock a lot of to be ex railway land for very profitbale development

 

[rvdborgt]

I suspect Stuttgart 21 will unlock a lot of to be ex railway land for very profitbale development

That was the main reason, if not the only reason, why that project was ever started.

 

[Austriantrain]

Similar to the new tunnel in Semmering, Austria.

Thankfully. Rail is not operated for track bashers, but for the public, and both the Semmering and the Elb Valley have been in the way of attractive rail services for decades.