So far no funding for rail project to Saxony

The construction of the so-called Central Germany Link, which is intended to provide fast connections from Saxony via Thuringia to western Germany, cannot begin as planned. According to the Federal Ministry of Transport's response to a small question from Green Party MP Matthias Gastel, the Federal Ministry of Transport has not yet given a funding commitment for the rail expansion on the route.

Despite the billions in debt taken on by the federal government as part of the so-called special fund, there is a shortfall of around two billion euros for the construction of several rail projects by 2029. These include the section from Weimar via Gera to Gößnitz of the 517-kilometre-long Central Germany line, which is estimated to cost 544 million euros.

Connection to be fully electrified

The route is to be fully electrified, among other things, to ensure faster long-distance connections from Chemnitz and Dresden via Erfurt to the Rhine-Main region and the Ruhr area. The previously announced start of construction this year has therefore been postponed to 2028 - complete electrification of the line to 2032. According to Deutsche Bahn, the original schedule envisaged full completion of the project by 2030.

"The CDU and SPD are breaking their word again," said Katja Meier, transport policy spokesperson for the Green parliamentary group in Saxony. The federal transport minister and chancellor must now keep their promise to focus on the east when expanding the rail network, demanded the state politician. The Saxon state government must now insist on federal funding for the project. "Anyone who takes eastern Germany seriously must not put central connections on hold again."

Ostbeauftragte: "Excavators must finally roll"

The federal commissioner for eastern Germany, Elisabeth Kaiser from Thuringia, expressed a similar view. According to the SPD politician, the east must benefit appropriately from the special fund for infrastructure in the federal budget. "A good rail connection to our eastern neighbors and the sustainable modernization of our rail infrastructure is more than overdue. Important expansion projects such as the Central Germany link in Thuringia need a binding perspective so that the excavators can finally roll," said Kaiser.

Leipzig Green Party MP Paula Piechotta recalled the Federal Chancellor's promise in December to press ahead with the expansion of the railroad line. "If Merz does not make the money available quickly, he will have broken another promise to the East Germans. Central Germany must finally be better connected to long-distance transport."