German Unity Transport Project No. 8

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VDE 8 (here: gray) is one of the 17 German unity transport projects

The German Unity Transport Project No. 8 ( VDE 8 abbreviation ) is the largest rail transport project in the German Unity Transport Project . It comprises the new and expansion of railway lines or sections with a total length of 515 km between Nuremberg , Erfurt , Halle (Saale) , Leipzig and Berlin .

The project is part of the federal transport infrastructure plans from 1992 and 2003 . It is also part of the Berlin - Munich high-speed axis and part of the Berlin-Palermo railway axis of the trans-European transport network , which extends from Scandinavia to Italy . With the Federal Railways Expansion Act of November 15, 1993, the project was classified as one of the urgent needs of the requirement plan for federal railways.

According to the federal government, 6.470 billion of the estimated total costs of 9.760 billion euros had been invested by the end of 2012 ( dynamic planning, land acquisition and construction costs). At the end of 2013, of the planned total costs of 9.914 billion euros, 7.081 billion euros had been spent. Investments of 2.832 billion euros were still outstanding.

The transport project was often controversial. With the commissioning of the new Ebensfeld – Erfurt line on December 10, 2017, most of the project has been completed.

Parts of the upgraded line between Nuremberg and Ebensfeld are still in planning and construction, the financing of a freight train tunnel in Fürth is still open. Complete completion is not Template: future / in 5 yearsexpected before 2028 .

structure

The three sections of the project

The project is divided into three sections:

The project comprises 1,164 km of overhead lines, 214 culverts, 177 road bridges, 335 railway bridges, 48 ​​train stations, 40 valley bridges, 27 tunnels and 190 km of rail power lines.

In 2017, Deutsche Bahn often referred to the VDE 8 project as the Berlin - Munich high-speed line , which, in addition to the VDE 8 project, also includes the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt-Munich high-speed line , which was completed in 2006 .

history

background

A railway line between Berlin and Munich was already included in the German railway network proposed by Friedrich List in 1833 . In 1851, after the completion of the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Compagnie between Leipzig and Hof , a continuous connection between Berlin and Munich was established for the first time. This did not go back to a uniform traffic planning, but was a consequence of the network development from 1840 and developed mainly from regional interests. After the Regensburg – Hof railway line was continuously passable from 1882 , long-distance traffic between Berlin and Munich shifted to this route. From around 1900, the leadership on the Großheringen – Saalfeld railway became increasingly important for long-distance traffic. In the 1930s, the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft began electrifying the Berlin – Munich connection, choosing the guided tour via the Saalbahn. An inclusion of Erfurt in this relation was not possible due to the existing network and the topographical obstacle of the Thuringian Forest . However, since the Halle – Bebra railway was opened in 1849, Erfurt was an important stopover for the connection between Berlin and Frankfurt. Due to the war, continuous electrical operation between Leipzig and Munich did not begin until 1942. After the war, the electrical operation was limited to the section south of Probstzella due to the dismantling of the electrical systems as a reparation for the Soviet Union . The second track north of the zone boundary was also dismantled as a reparation payment . The division of Germany reduced demand to a minimum, which is why the Deutsche Bundesbahn also dismantled the second track of the Frankenwaldbahn in sections . In the GDR , the relation between Leipzig / Halle and Erfurt remained significant, even if long-distance traffic to Frankfurt was also reduced considerably. After reunification , the existing lines began to be expanded quickly, primarily through renovation, reconstruction of the second tracks that were still missing and renewed electrification. From 1991, however, ICE trains between Berlin and Frankfurt used the then newly opened high-speed line Hanover – Würzburg , which, despite the longer route, enabled shorter travel times than via Erfurt.

In the course of reunification, the Deutsche Bundesbahn initially named new lines Lichtenfels – Erfurt and Erfurt– Großkorbetha –Leipzig.

On behalf of the Free State of Saxony, the Institute for Railway Construction of the TU Dresden initially developed rough routing for various new lines in the new federal states, including a new east-west line from Kassel- Halle-Leipzig-Dresden-Breslau-Cracow / Warsaw. south of the Harz , Nordhausen, Sangerhausen and Halle. In the north-south direction, a new and upgraded line Nuremberg – Bamberg – Lichtenfels – Probstzella – Saalfeld – Pößnick – Neustadt – Gera – Schmölln – Altenburg was proposed. Between Probstzella and Leipzig, an ICE travel time of 49 minutes should be achieved at 250 km / h.

The disadvantage of the concept was that the route between Frankfurt and Saxony or Berlin always led via Kassel and that the metropolitan areas of Erfurt and Chemnitz were not developed. A north-south route via Hof / Plauen was not pursued due to the Fichtelgebirge, Vogtland and the eastern Thuringian Forest, which are classified as significant natural barriers. The Sachsenmagistrale was considered to be expandable in only a few places and should be provided for tilting technology ICs.

At that time, further investigations by the TU Dresden envisaged a route that would unthread the high-speed line Hanover – Würzburg at Melsungen and join a line from Nuremberg at Erfurt, which in turn should lead past Saalfeld to the west. The further route should lead from Erfurt via Halle to Leipzig. While an upgraded Berlin – Leipzig line for 200 km / h was planned at that time, the Dresden investigations envisaged new lines: from Leipzig, trains to Berlin and Dresden were to be routed largely via an NBS that could be driven at 300 km / h. Trains to Berlin should relocate a new route at Machern in order to meet an existing route east of Eilenburg that has been expanded for 200 km / h. To the north of Falkenberg / Elster , this line was supposed to merge into the new Berlin – Dresden line, which was also supposed to open up the major Sperenberg airport .

The first Thuringian Prime Minister, Josef Duchač , spoke to Federal Transport Minister Krause for the large-scale route over Erfurt. In intensive discussions, the state of Saxony advocated a large-scale route over the Vogtland and the Saxony-Franconian mainline , the state of Thuringia for the variant via Erfurt. Ultimately, Thuringia prevailed in the Federal Council in 1991 .

planning

The first considerations were the expansion of the Würzburg - Schweinfurt - Erfurt / Eisenach, Nuremberg - Bamberg - Lichtenfels - Jena - Leipzig / Halle and Nuremberg - Hof - Plauen - Leipzig / Dresden axes. However, under the requirements of the time, all axes had serious deficiencies in the routing: curves that were too narrow and inclines that were too steep (for freight traffic). The reconstruction of second tracks, continuous electrification or modernization of the signaling technology would have neither increased the speed level nor met the capacity requirements of high-performance long-distance routes.

To increase the capacity between Nuremberg, Erfurt, Leipzig and Halle, according to the planning company Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit ( PBDE ), capacity increases through the use of the latest signaling technology (e.g. CIR-ELKE ), the use of more powerful vehicles (e.g. with tilting technology ) or the creation of further overhaul options has been examined in detail. Large-scale alternatives were also examined:

  • As expansion Alternative 1 ( space closure Measure D 9 ) was an expansion between Hochstadt - Marktzeuln , Saalfeld , Jena and Camburg for DM 1.1 billion, which should be completed by the 1996th The travel time between Nuremberg and Leipzig would have been 215 minutes, between Nuremberg and Erfurt (via Saalfeld) 205 minutes would have been reached.
  • As expansion alternative 2.1 , measures to increase the line performance were designated, which were to be implemented by 1998 for 1.6 billion DM. Three components were planned: the construction of a freight train route with a tunnel between Nürnberg-Großmarkt and Erlangen-Eltersdorf, the construction of a third track between Erlangen-Eltersdorf and Forchheim and the construction of a third track between the Saaleck and Weißenfels junction in connection with a fourth track from Weißenfels to Großkorbetha . The travel times corresponded almost to alternative 1 (210 minutes Nuremberg – Leipzig and 205 minutes Nuremberg – Saalfeld – Erfurt).
  • The expansion alternative 2.2 comprised two modules to shorten travel times: First, either the Jena – Weimar or the Saalfeld – Arnstadt line was to be renovated and expanded. In the first variant, the Jena West and Jena Saalbahnhof stations should be merged. The second building block was a new line between Förtschendorf and Saalfeld on the Saale Railway. The travel time from Nuremberg to Leipzig would have been 190 minutes in the final stage, and 145 minutes from Nuremberg to Erfurt (via Saalfeld or Jena each). The cost was given as 1.3 billion DM. With this variant, the capacity between Lichtenfels and Camberg could not even be used due to a lack of capacity between Bamberg and Fürth and between the Großheringen branch and Leipzig. The capacity of 120 trains per direction that can be achieved in the Nuremberg - Leipzig corridor did not meet the BVWP forecast of 200 trains per day and direction.
  • As an expansion alternative 3 , two new lines were considered: from Nuremberg via Bayreuth , Hof and Werdau to Leipzig (for 9.4 billion DM) and from Erfurt to Leipzig (for 4.5 billion DM). According to the PBDE, the NBS Nürnberg – Leipzig would have been bundled with the federal motorway 9, following a proposal by the citizens' initiative The Better Railway Concept ; however, the possibilities for bundling traffic routes have been considerably restricted due to the maximum longitudinal inclination of the new line of 12.5 per thousand. At a cost of DM 13.4 billion, according to the PBDE, a journey time from Nuremberg to Leipzig of 107 minutes and to Erfurt (via Saalfeld) of 205 minutes would have been achievable. According to the PBDE, the increase in performance and the reduction in travel times between Nuremberg and Leipzig were in line with the objectives, while the travel time between Nuremberg and Erfurt at 205 minutes was unacceptable. According to the information provided by the first project manager, 180 km of mountains and nature reserves had to be crossed parallel to the A 9, and a maximum of 80 km when crossing the Thuringian Forest.
  • As an upgrade alternative 4 ( German Unity Transport Project No. 8 ), a new and upgraded route from Nuremberg via Ebensfeld and Erfurt to Leipzig was considered. With total costs of DM 12.4 billion, a travel time from Nuremberg to Erfurt of 75 minutes and to Leipzig of 105 minutes (via Erfurt) could have been achieved. For the upgraded Nuremberg – Ebensfeld line, 3.3 billion DM were calculated, for the NBS Ebensfeld – Erfurt 4.6 billion DM and for the NBS Erfurt – Leipzig 4.5 billion DM. With a capacity of 205 trains per day and direction the demand forecast has been met.

The use of tilting technology trains would have reduced travel times slightly, but did not lead to an increase in performance. In the end, the investigations come to the conclusion that only the expansion option was possible in order to remove capacity bottlenecks in the Nuremberg – Leipzig corridor and to shorten the long-distance rail travel times.

The first project consultations for the new Erfurt – Leipzig / Halle line took place in March 1991.

According to the early planning status from the beginning of 1992, two additional tracks were to be built between Nuremberg and Lichtenfels for a maximum speed of 200 km / h. This was to be followed by a new line from Lichtenfels via Erfurt and Weißenfels to Leipzig that could be driven at 250 km / h . The existing Weißenfels – Halle line was to be expanded to a speed of 200 km / h. In the section between Halle / Leipzig and the Genshagener Heide junction near Berlin, the existing tracks were to be upgraded for 160 km / h, with an option for 200 km / h and further expansions on the Berlin outer ring . The overall project, which began in 1991, was to be gradually put into operation and completed in full in 2000. At the beginning of 1992 the planning was detailed. Based on this, the documents for the plan approval procedure should be developed.

State planning assessment of Bavaria from July 30, 1993 (full text)

The regional planning decisions of the federal states involved were available by mid-1993 .

According to the planning status from mid-1992, three sub-projects were planned:

  • The VDE 8/1 project should extend from Berlin to Bitterfeld. The route should be expanded to 160 km / h, with an option for 200 km / h. In the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan of 1992, this project was calculated at 435 million DM. In September 1992, the PBDE calculated costs of DM 1.950 billion. 148 kilometers of 158 kilometers were to be expanded and 10 new ones built.
  • The VDE 8/2 project included the new construction and expansion from Erfurt via Halle / Leipzig to Bitterfeld.
  • The VDE 8/3 project dealt with the new construction and expansion between Nuremberg and Erfurt. According to the planning status of September 1992, 76 km for 200 km / h were to be expanded from 188 km and new buildings were to be built for 112 km for 250 km / h.

The first planning approval decision for a new construction section was issued on December 6, 1994. The plan approval procedures were completed on average after around 18 months. According to the PBDE, objections and protests were kept within narrow limits through the early involvement of citizens, politicians, associations and administration .

At EU ministerial conferences in Corfu in June 1994 and in Leipzig in September 1994, the corridor was given the highest priority in the European rail network.

The realization of the project was uncertain at the turn of the millennium. The Prime Ministers Eberhard Diepgen , Kurt Biedenkopf , Reinhard Höppner , Bernhard Vogel and Edmund Stoiber wrote to the Federal Minister of Transport demanding that the project be implemented. Vogel later described the decision-making process as follows:

“I fought hard to get the high-speed line to bend west. This variant was controversial, critics said that the route would be faster without the detour via Erfurt. But it was important to me that Thuringia is not left out. Such a railway line is important for the economic development of a federal state. I often talked to Helmut Kohl about the project. Biedenkopf did that too. But I had good arguments. Thuringia had an unemployment rate of 20 percent at that time. And I had a closer relationship with Kohl than Biedenkopf. "

The new lines are the first rail lines in Germany to be completely planned and built according to TSI .

The planning company Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit was entrusted with project management from 1991 to 2000 and then, until 2002, DB Projekt Verkehrsbau . Since then, DB ProjektBau has been responsible for this. In mid-2009, more than 140 employees at the Leipzig, Erfurt and Nuremberg locations were involved in what is known as the major VDE 8 project . According to DB, the project's three information centers had been visited by more than 60,000 people by the end of 2010.

construction

In 1991 the first construction work began at Bitterfeld .

In August 2012, the breakthrough of the Höhnberg tunnel marked the 25th and final breakthrough of the new lines. A total of 12 million cubic meters of excavated rock were required to implement the transport project. The 25 tunnels are between 300 and 8,300 meters long, and a total of 56 kilometers run underground. Around 2500 people were and are directly employed in the construction of the tunnel.

By the time the Ebensfeld – Erfurt line goes into operation in December 2017, a number of construction measures on the access routes are also to be completed. For example, the route between Fulda and Erfurt is to be upgraded for the use of the eddy current brake of the ICE 3 , the Erfurt – Eisenach section is to be expanded for 200 km / h and signaling work is to be carried out at various stations. In addition, there are plans to expand the Central-Germany connection and the Wolkramshausen – Erfurt railway line .

Between Eisenach and Gerstungen , a 19 km long section is to be expanded largely to 160 km / h in the second half of 2017. The planning for the necessary expansion of the adjoining Hönebach tunnel from 90 to 160 km / h was put out to tender across Europe in November 2014. Once the measures have been completed, the existing route between the Berlin curve near Bebra and Erfurt would be largely passable at 160 to 200 km / h.

The existing line between Bamberg and Lichtenfels was completely closed from January to September 2016 for the integration of the new line from Erfurt north of Bamberg.

36,000 pieces of land were acquired for the implementation of the project.

Installation

On December 22, 1992, the first section expanded for 160 km / h was handed over in the 8/1 sub-project.

In 1993 the PBDE counted on the building permit for 1995 and the commissioning in 2000. In 1997 the commissioning of the entire project was planned for 2006. At the end of 1998, the entire commissioning was expected for 2007.

After various delays, Deutsche Bahn announced in mid-September 2007 that the entire project would be completed by 2017.

In May 2006, the sections between Leipzig / Halle and Berlin, which had been expanded to a large extent for 200 km / h, went into operation.

The commissioning of the VDE 8.2 sub-project, scheduled for December 2015, was considered endangered in mid-2015 due to the lack of approval for a special type of slab track used there. While Deutsche Bahn officially did not see the commissioning date endangered, there were considerable internal concerns. A time delay of up to three years was feared. The line went into operation as planned.

With the commissioning of the VDE 8.2 project, the ICE system stop Weimar for long-distance traffic was abandoned. With the commissioning of VDE 8.1 on December 10, 2017, Naumburg, Jena, Saalfeld and Lichtenfels also lost their system status. According to a media report, the states of Bavaria and Saxony rejected a proposal by the state of Thuringia to offer subsidized long-distance transport on the existing routes between Leipzig and Nuremberg.

Special train in Nuremberg for the opening on December 8, 2017

Commissioning celebrations were planned for December 8th and 9th, 2017 in Berlin and Munich. With the commissioning of the new Ebensfeld – Erfurt line in December 2017, according to DB information, the biggest timetable change in decades should go hand in hand. New timetables are required for 70 percent of local transport companies.

The realization of part of the upgraded Nuremberg – Ebensfeld line and the Fürth freight train tunnel are pending and in some cases are not yet foreseeable (status: 2017).

business

planning

At the beginning of 1993, an ICE line from Munich – Nuremberg – Erfurt – Berlin with up to 250 km / h with 16 pairs of trains per day was planned. In addition, two two-hourly and maximum 200 km / h interregional lines (Karlsruhe – Stuttgart) –Nuremberg – Erlangen – Bamberg (–Coburg) and (Allgäu – Augsburg–) Nürnberg – Erlangen – Bamberg – Lichtenfels (–Saalfeld) were planned.

According to the planning status from the end of 2015, the following lines were planned from the end of 2017:

  • Stuttgart – Frankfurt – Erfurt – Leipzig – Berlin (ICE line 11, every two hours)
  • Berlin – Erfurt – Frankfurt (ICE line 15, every two hours)
  • Berlin – Leipzig / Halle – Erfurt – Munich (ICE line 28, every hour)
  • Berlin – Halle – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Munich (ICE Sprinter line 29, three pairs of trains per day)
  • East-West line (ICE line 50, every hour)
  • In regional traffic, regional express traffic on the Nuremberg – Coburg – Sonneberg line (state border) over the new line is being considered. Provided are up to seven pairs of trains per day .

The relocation of line 11 (Berlin – Frankfurt – Stuttgart), which previously ran via Braunschweig / Kassel, via Erfurt is to be compensated for by a new two-hour ICE line from Berlin via Braunschweig and Kassel to Frankfurt.

The offer concept provided for the following lines in mid-2013:

  • Leipzig – Erfurt – Frankfurt / Main – Stuttgart (new line 11, every two hours at hour 1)
  • Berlin – Halle – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Munich (line 28.1, every two hours at hour 1)
  • Northern Germany – Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Nuremberg – Munich (line 28.2, every two hours at hour 2)
  • Dresden – Leipzig – Erfurt – Frankfurt (line 5, every two hours at hour 2)
  • Berlin – Nuremberg – Munich (optional Sprinter line 8)
  • Berlin – Halle – Erfurt – West Germany (optional line 15)

Lines 8 and 15 are to be occupied with trains based on demand. The trains on line 8 should be around 30 minutes faster than the regular trains (lines 28.1 / 28.2), with a single stop in Nuremberg, and the trains on line 15, with a single stop in Halle (Saale), around 20 minutes faster as the bar line (line 11). With the timetable change in December 2017, up to 10,000 additional seats are to be offered daily between Berlin and Munich, in particular through the use of longer trains. A total of 17 million people should benefit from shorter travel times and new direct connections.

ICE 4 and ICE 3 trains should be used between Berlin and Munich - if available for commissioning - and ICE T between Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main (as of 2012). By December 2017, 40 ICE 1 multiple units are to be equipped with ETCS in order to be able to operate on the VDE 8 routes, among other things.

Individual ICE 4 trains should be running between Hamburg, Berlin and Munich as early as December 2017. When it became foreseeable that only a handful of these multiple units would be available, their use was postponed. The ICE 4 was finally introduced on the VDE 8 project from December 2019.

implementation

As part of the commissioning of the Nuremberg – Erfurt high-speed line in December 2017, Deutsche Bahn reorganized the long-distance network on some routes. The relocation of route 11 Berlin – Frankfurt – Stuttgart – Munich from Braunschweig to Erfurt via the new Erfurt – Leipzig / Halle line was implemented . Furthermore, from December 10, 2017, line 28 Berlin – Halle / Leipzig – Nuremberg – Munich was completely routed via Erfurt.

line Line course Vehicle use on December 10, 2017
New lines
ICE 15
Sprinter
Berlin - Berlin Südkreuz - Halle - Erfurt - Frankfurt (Main) - Darmstadt ICE 3 and ICE T
ICE 29
Sprinter
originally as line 8
Berlin - Berlin Südkreuz - Halle - Erfurt - Nuremberg - Munich ICE 3
Change or exchange of the route
old New unchanged old New unchanged
ICE 11 ICE 11 Berlin - Berlin-Spandau - Braunschweig - Hildesheim - Göttingen - Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe - Fulda - Hanau - Berlin Südkreuz - Lutherstadt Wittenberg - Bitterfeld  - Leipzig - Erfurt - Eisenach - Fulda - Frankfurt - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munich ICE 1
ICE 50.2 ICE 13 - Leipzig - Erfurt - Eisenach - Bad Hersfeld - Berlin - Berlin-Spandau - Braunschweig - Hildesheim - Göttingen - Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe - Fulda - Frankfurt Süd - Frankfurt Airport ICE-T, ICE 2 and MET
ICE 28.1 ICE 18 Hamburg - Ludwigslust  - Wittenberge  - Berlin-Spandau - Berlin - Berlin Südkreuz - Bitterfeld  - Halle - Naumburg - Jena Paradise - Saalfeld - Lichtenfels - Bamberg - Erfurt - Coburg  - Bamberg  - Erlangen - Nuremberg - Donauwörth  - Augsburg  - Munich-Pasing - Munich ICE 1 and ICE 3
ICE 28.2 ICE 28 Hamburg - Ludwigslust  - Wittenberge  - Berlin-Spandau - Berlin - Berlin Südkreuz - Lutherstadt Wittenberg - Leipzig - Naumburg - Jena Paradise - Saalfeld - Lichtenfels - Bamberg - Erfurt - Coburg  - Bamberg - Nuremberg - Ingolstadt  - Munich
(Nuremberg - Treuchtlingen  - Donauwörth  - Augsburg  - Munich-Pasing - Munich)
ICE-T
Change of intermediate stops
ICE 50.1 ICE 50 Wiesbaden - Mainz - Frankfurt Airport - Frankfurt - Fulda - Bad Hersfeld - Eisenach - Gotha - Erfurt - Weimar  - Leipzig - Riesa - Dresden-Neustadt - Dresden ICE T

Since the timetable change in December 2019, in addition to the five pairs of Sprinter trains, a continuous hourly service between Berlin and Munich has been offered. Since then, additional Berlin-Frankfurt sprinters have been run via VDE 8. The number of seats between Munich and Berlin has been expanded by a further ten percent.

outlook

In March 2018, DB announced that it would set up an hourly sprinter connection between Munich and Berlin from 2020, provided that the delivery of the ICE 4 progresses according to plan. This did not happen.

The first expert draft for the Deutschland-Takt published in October 2018 provides for a planned travel time from Munich Hauptbahnhof to Berlin Hauptbahnhof of 3 hours and 49 minutes for 2030 (long-distance line 7). The travel time between Nuremberg and Erfurt should be 60 minutes, between Erfurt and Halle 28 minutes and between Halle and Berlin Südkreuz 61 minutes. In the 2nd draft of the expert opinion, dated May 2019, the travel time is reduced to 3 hours and 40 minutes. Among other things, the travel time between Nuremberg and Erfurt was reduced from 60 to 56 minutes.

Effects

Expected travel time reductions in long-distance transport (in hours)
relation 2013 2018
Munich – Berlin about 6:00 4:18 (via Halle)
4:28 (via Leipzig)
3:55 ( Sprinter )
Leipzig – Munich about 5:00 approx. 3:10
Leipzig – Erfurt approx. 1:15 about 0:45
Leipzig – Frankfurt am Main 3:26 approx. 2:55
Halle – Munich 4:47 approx. 3:05
(approx. 2:45 sprinter)
Halle – Frankfurt am Main about 4:00 about 2:45
Halle – Erfurt approx 1:20 about 0:45
Erfurt – Dresden 2:30 about 2:00
Erfurt – Berlin 2:40 approx. 1:50
Erfurt – Munich about 4:30 approx. 2:25
Dresden – Munich about 6:00 approx. 4:35
Dresden – Frankfurt am Main 4:44 approx. 4:15
Nuremberg – Berlin about 4:45 approx. 3:10
(approx. 2:50 sprinters)
Nuremberg – Erfurt approx. 3:10 approx 1:20
Nuremberg – Leipzig approx. 3:37 approx. 2:05
Nuremberg – Dresden approx. 4:25 approx. 3:20

The shortest rail route between the main train stations from Nuremberg to Leipzig will be shortened by the project from 321 to around 311 km, with a straight line distance of 230 km. In connection with the high-speed line Nuremberg – Ingolstadt – Munich , the 623 km long rail route (via Halle) between Berlin and Munich has been covered in around four hours since December 2017.

The travel time from Leipzig to Munich in 1939, with a stop in Nuremberg, was five hours and 40 minutes. At the beginning of 1993 this travel time in the Intercity, with nine stops in between, was six hours. Once the entire project has been commissioned, with stops in Erfurt and Nuremberg, a journey time of around three hours and ten minutes between Munich and Leipzig is to be achieved (as of 1993).

The travel time from Nuremberg to Berlin was supposed to drop from six hours and 40 minutes (1990) to two hours and 40 minutes (as of 1997). In 2011, the aim was to travel time of two hours and 58 minutes.

The travel time between Berlin and Munich should, according to the status of 1995, decrease from initially (1990) eight and a half to four hours. According to the planning status of 1997, 3 hours and 44 minutes were aimed for. In 2010 it was planned to use ICE sprinter trains to reduce the travel time between Berlin and Munich to three and a half hours. According to the planning status of 2012, a travel time of around 4 hours and 15 minutes was planned for regular trains and 3 hours and 45 minutes for sprinter trains. With a planned travel time of less than four hours, the timetable contains extensive reserves; the travel times planned for the 300 km / h fast ICE 3 can also be adhered to by the 230 km / h ICE T. In 1939 the travel time between Munich and Berlin was seven hours and four minutes.

ICE sprinters are to travel between Berlin and Munich in 3 hours and 45 minutes without stopping (as of 2012). ICE sprinters could travel between Berlin and Nuremberg in 2 hours and 40 minutes. Regular ICE trains between Nuremberg and Berlin should take 3 hours and 12 minutes (via Halle) or 3 hours and 19 minutes (via Leipzig).

The travel time between Berlin and Frankfurt am Main should (as of 1995) be reduced to three hours and 20 minutes. A decrease from 6.5 hours (1995) to around 3.5 hours is planned between Frankfurt am Main and Dresden. The travel time between Erfurt and Leipzig should be reduced to 39 minutes (1939: 79 minutes), between Erfurt and Halle to 31 minutes (1939: 63 minutes).

From the end of 2017, ICE traffic between Frankfurt am Main and Berlin will take the route via the new line between Erfurt and Halle / Leipzig. For ICE between Frankfurt and Berlin, the route via Erfurt should be faster than today's route via Kassel and Göttingen. The travel time should then be regularly under four hours. Deutsche Bahn then expects an increase in train traffic on the Anhalter Bahn. The airport express planned in Berlin would then have to be routed via Gesundbrunnen station and the eastern outer ring due to a lack of capacity.

With the commissioning of the two new lines, the state of Thuringia plans to expand the regional transport services to the Erfurt junction. When the new Ebensfeld – Erfurt line goes into operation at the end of 2017, a full junction of the integral clock timetable is to be set up in Erfurt main station. For symmetry minute 30 mainline and regional trains from different directions should thereby meet at the train station to another to convey connection. The Nuremberg node is to be reached by ICE traffic from and towards Berlin at minute 0 in the future. A journey time of 79 minutes is planned between the Nuremberg node, which is to be reached on the hour, and the Erfurt node. A regular stop in Coburg is not planned. In the long term, after the completion of further expansions, a travel time of around 60 minutes is planned between Nuremberg and Erfurt.

Market volume for long-distance travel from Berlin (total market, rounded)
relation Volume
(trips / day)
Berlin – Hamburg 14,000
Berlin – Dresden 6,700
Berlin – Munich 6,000
Berlin – Leipzig 6,000
Berlin – Frankfurt am Main 5,400
Berlin-Halle (Saale) 2,500
Berlin – Erfurt 1,000

According to the company, Deutsche Bahn's long-distance traffic could suddenly increase its market share on routes to and from Berlin by up to 50 percent through the project. Between Berlin and Munich, where the rail transport mode had a market share of around 20 percent in 2012 (and 2016), the market share is to double to around 40 percent in 2018, making rail the preferred mode of transport. According to its own information, the railway had a market share of 15 percent between Berlin and Munich in 2015. This should increase to 50 percent. 17 million people would benefit from the project, especially in eastern Germany. The commissioning of the new Ebensfeld – Erfurt line in December 2017, according to the company, means the greatest improvement in services since the rail reform of 1994. This is the biggest change in the timetable in decades.

According to a media report, the daily ICE service for Jena will be reduced from 33 trains per day today to four trains per day in 2018 (as of September 2012). The trains are to run exclusively in and from the direction of Berlin as well as in the outskirts of the day (morning and evening). ICE trains to Munich should no longer exist.

In the first eight days of operation, 125 of the 289 trains running on the route between Berlin and Munich reached their destination with a delay of more than six minutes. The railway justifies this with initial technical difficulties as well as the onset of winter and states that more than 90 percent of the trains were already running on time for the Christmas holidays. On December 22nd and December 23rd by the early afternoon, more than 95 percent of the planned trains were also running on the new line. In the meantime, Deutsche Bahn is very satisfied with the operating situation and the use of the trains. In the first few weeks after the opening of the route between Munich and Berlin, more than twice as many passengers took the train as in the same period last year. At the same time, the punctuality on the new line could be increased to well over 90 percent of the trains. The initial problems are attributable to the trains, not the route. The utilization of the trains is 58 percent, 3 percentage points above the average for DB Fernverkehr (as of March 2018). In the first six months, two million travelers drove between Berlin and Munich via VDE 8. Compared to the same period in the previous year, this has more than doubled and exceeded expectations. The punctuality is above average.

By the end of November 2018, 4.4 million Berlin-Munich travelers were counted via VDE 8, twice as many as in the previous year. With a market share of 46 percent, the railway is the leading mode of transport. Around 1.2 million travelers switched from airplanes to trains, one million from cars. The utilization of trains is 18 percent above the average for long-distance transport. In 2018, a total of 4.9 million long-distance travelers were counted between Nuremberg and Erfurt on the new line, 104 percent more than in the previous year (via Jena). Between Frankfurt and Berlin, the number of travelers (via Erfurt and Braunschweig) increased by 22 percent compared to 2015. The seat capacity between Berlin and Munich increased from 3.9 million in 2010 to 8.8 million in 2019. During the same period, the number of trains rose by 57 percent and more trains were extended. In the first quarter of 2019, the number of passengers rose again by ten percent year-on-year.

In May 2019, the airline Eurowings announced that it would no longer offer flights between Nuremberg and Berlin from June 17, 2019 due to many passengers being relocated to the train. On the other hand, VDE 8 has so far had little influence on air traffic between Munich and Berlin.

costs

At the beginning of 1993 the estimated project costs were 12.4 billion DM. According to the planning status of 1994, costs of 15 billion D-Marks (about 8 billion euros ) were planned for the 540 km long overall project . Completion was planned for the year 2000. At the end of 1997, 14.464 billion Deutschmarks were calculated for the project.

By the end of 1996, 2.669 billion D-Marks had been invested in the overall project. Total expenditure of 14.464 billion D-Marks was planned.

The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). In the 2007-2013 funding period, a total of 289.1 million euros were approved for sub-projects 8.1 and 8.2.

As of December 31, 2011, the estimated total cost was 10.331 billion euros. By the end of 2010, 6.529 billion euros had been awarded. In 2011 around 770 million euros were invested. The costs of the sub-projects 8.1 and 8.2 amounting to eight billion euros are raised by the federal government, the European Union (ERDF and TEN funds), Deutsche Bahn and six federal states.

Around 200 million euros were spent on nature conservation (including noise protection) by mid-2017.

Criticism and alternatives

The initiative The Better Railway Concept , which was founded in 1992 , is an umbrella organization of citizens' initiatives committed against the project. In the 1990s, it often advocated the expansion of five existing routes in place of the new and expansion project. According to the information provided by the PBDE, the targeted or, according to the forecast, required capacity of around 200 trains per day and direction between Nuremberg, Erfurt, Leipzig and Halle could not even be reached. The achievable travel time level was well below the target of around 2 hours between Nuremberg and Leipzig / Halle. Furthermore, due to their longitudinal inclination, the sections Schweinfurt - Suhl - Erfurt (up to 21 per thousand), Lichtenfels - Jena (up to 29 per thousand) and Schnabelwaid - Bayreuth - Hof (up to 25 per thousand) could only be used to a limited extent for modern freight traffic. According to the PBDE, a four-track line Nuremberg – Hof – Werdau – Leipzig would have required a continuous re-routing through around 180 km of “difficult landscape” at a cost of around 10 billion DM for a speed of 200 km / h. Landscape protection areas would also have had to be crossed between Nuremberg and Hof.

Vieregg-Rössler criticizes the spacious route over Erfurt. While the northern section between Berlin and Halle still largely follows the straight line, south of Halle a large detour to the west, via Erfurt, is taken. A direct route would bypass the Thuringian Forest here and thus avoid numerous long, high valley bridges and around 30 km of tunnels. The bypassing the compression chamber Gera / Zwickau / Chemnitz (with about two million inhabitants) would be avoided. The detour via Erfurt (“Erfurter Beule”), compared to a direct route, was implemented, according to press reports, by the then Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bernhard Vogel (CDU).

In 2000, the state of Saxony presented a study according to which a Saxony-Franconian mainline , including the Vogtland tunnel , between Berlin and Munich , which was developed for speeds of 160 to 200 km / h, was 22 minutes less than the VDE-8 project extended travel time of 4 hours and 9 minutes, but at the same time saves almost 5 billion Deutschmarks. In March 2001, the federal government and Deutsche Bahn rejected the Vogtland variant of the Berlin – Munich route.

An expert opinion commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency for the expansion of rail freight transport recommended that the project be canceled in mid-2010, as the new lines of the project failed to meet the traffic demand. The routes are practically useless for freight traffic and incorrectly planned for passenger traffic, as the more densely populated East Thuringia is bypassed, while the routes lead through sparsely populated areas in the Thuringian Basin and through the Thuringian Forest.

technology

When they went into operation, the two new lines of the VDE 8 project were the only line sections in Germany that were equipped with ETCS Level 2 (blue); the other high-speed lines in Germany are still equipped with the predecessor system LZB (red).

The new lines between Ebensfeld, Erfurt and Halle or Leipzig are controlled by electronic interlockings . Three sub-centers (two in Erfurt, one in Unterleiterbach ) with twelve outsourced control computer systems control around 270 point machines, over 600 axle counting points and conventional light signals (on the VDE 8.1 upgraded route). The lines are equipped with the train protection system ETCS without stationary signals (ETCS L2oS). Five ETCS centers will be created (two in Erfurt and one each in Halle (Saale), Neuwiederitzsch and Unterleiterbach), and more than 3000 Euro balises will be relocated. A total of 14 series of vehicles are to be approved for the ETCS of the routes in the future: In addition to the already approved ICE T, this includes the ICE 1, ICE 3 and various maintenance and towing vehicles. According to a press report, freight locomotives of the types Bombardier Traxx and Siemens Vectron are also to be approved.

No light signals are planned on the new lines. In addition to main signals, the functions of pre-signals , additional signals and light blocking signals have also been integrated in ETCS. Based on the availability considerations of all components involved, there is also no further autonomous train control system ( e.g. PZB , LZB or ETCS Level 1 ). Instead, with the possibilities of ETCS Level 2, punctual train control was simulated, which allows up to 160 km / h outside of operating points with points and monitors compliance with the permissible speed. In addition, operational and technical functions were designed to deal with the failure of GSM-R base stations , for example the passage of disturbed radio cells through extended driving permits. However, both of these fallback levels initially considered in the event of a radio interruption are not used, as the actual availability of the radio connection during operation has exceeded the initial expectations (as of the end of 2017).

The equipment of the routes between Leipzig and Bamberg with ETCS, GSM-R and electronic interlockings was put out to tender across Europe in July 2011 and awarded in July 2012 for 93 million euros. Interlockings and train protection account for 82 percent of the order total, and GSM-R radio systems for 18 percent. The value of the order, which has since changed in scope, was put at 120 million euros in June 2016.The new lines should be equipped with ETCS according to baseline 3 . At the end of 2015, the supplier informed DB that the intended equipment could not be implemented. In the following discussion, the so-called variant C , equipment according to SRS 2.3.0d with additional functions, was agreed.

Radio field amplifiers were also installed for the GSM-R supply.

Web links

Individual evidence

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