The expansion and electrification of the Saxony-Franconia main line is economically worthwhile - yet the federal government has put the project on hold. This is according to the answer to a minor question from Leipzig Green Party MP Paula Piechotta, which was submitted to the German Press Agency.
According to this, planning for the project was already halted in 2022 - and has not yet been resumed. "It is currently unclear when planning for the Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale can be resumed," the answer states. According to the federal government, decisions on this are to be made as part of the 2025 and 2026 budgets.
A reassessment this year showed a positive cost-benefit ratio, mainly due to higher forecasts for freight transport. At the same time, demand for passenger transport is also growing: Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn recently reported more than 10.5 million passengers per year on the lines between Hof and Dresden - twice as many as in 2016. The increase between Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau is particularly strong.
Stagnation despite record passenger numbers
Nothing is happening despite this: the government merely pointed out that the railroad would update its plans as soon as it received an order for them. The federal government lacks the money for new and expansion projects for the railroads in the coming years.
Piechotta, a member of the budget committee, criticized the federal government and Deutsche Bahn for torpedoing the legally planned and politically desired expansion. She accused both of not planning the project any further and at the same time carrying out modernizations that would stand in the way of later electrification.
Her office cited the conversion of Rückersdorf station near Nuremberg as an example: barrier-free conversions are currently being carried out there, although an existing bridge could later be in the way of the overhead line. The government refers to the limited funding period until 2027 - planning is therefore taking place independently of the line extension.
According to Deutsche Bahn, the Saxony-Franconia Main Line stretches over around 288 kilometers and connects the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt with the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg via the Dresden-Hof and Leipzig-Werdau sections. The route is anchored in the Federal Rail Route Expansion Act. The expansion is considered an important project for better regional and international rail connections.
Future on the sidetrack?
"Instead of acting against all economic reason, the federal government and railroads must immediately resume plans for the electrification and expansion of the line," demanded Piechotta. The line has been continuously passable for around 140 years, and continuous electrification should not take another 140 years.
The line would also be important as a detour for the future Dresden-Prague expansion, but without electrification, time-consuming locomotive changes will remain necessary, according to the federal government.
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