Electrification of the Saxony-Franconia main line is required

The passenger association Pro Bahn wants the Saxony-Franconia main line to be completely electrified. The line must finally be upgraded so that trains can run continuously between Dresden and Nuremberg again, Pro Bahn spokesman Bertram Zetzsche said at a “railway summit” in Plauen, Vogtland. Stakeholders from politics, transport planning and business from Saxony and Bavaria were invited to the event.

The railway line runs from Saxon to Bavaria with a connection to the Czech Republic. On the Bavarian side, between Hof and Nuremberg, around 140 kilometers of the line are still without electricity. “It’s about regions, it’s about people, it’s about being left out,” Zetzsche said. Bavaria really wants to say goodbye to diesel locomotives in regional transport for good by 2040.

The federal government had rejected electrification because of an unfavorable cost-benefit ratio. Supporters of the extension of the Saxony-Franconia main line believe that this cost-benefit calculation for the railway extension is outdated and want it to be scrapped. The next federal government must also launch a comprehensive rail electrification offensive. Links with the neighboring Czech Republic also need to be improved.