Saxony-Anhalt must get significantly better connections to the long-distance rail network, said the State Minister for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs, Dr. Lydia Hüskens, today in Magdeburg, presenting a corresponding strategy paper that will result in a list of demands on the federal government and Deutsche Bahn AG.
There is a need for action everywhere in the country, emphasized the minister. “In addition to Halle, Magdeburg must finally be connected to the metropolises of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt am Main and via Hanover to western Germany and to the neighboring economic areas of Rostock and Dresden at ICE level,” she emphasized. Not least in view of the forthcoming settlement of INTEL near the state capital and the construction of the “Future Center for German Unity and European Transformation” in Halle, there is no alternative to expanding long-distance transport in the state in order to be able to cope with the expected streams of commuters and visitors, said Hob Huskens out.
At the heart of the state’s demands on the federal government and DB AG are several additional ICE axes. “In the long term, Berlin should be accessible with an ICE train from Magdeburg. In the medium term, increasing the InterCity frequency to at least every two hours is absolutely necessary,” said Lydia Hüskens, listing key details from the state’s strategy paper.
The Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH (NASA) has worked out very specific and, above all, realistic proposals for solutions on how the future long-distance transport concept in Saxony-Anhalt should be designed, the minister said in the press conference.
The basic prerequisite is, of course, a comprehensive expansion of the infrastructure that allows significantly higher line speeds. For example, the Halle-Magdeburg-Stendal-Wittenberge axis must be expanded to 200 kilometers per hour in order to further speed up ICE traffic, she emphasized.
The integration of Saxony-Anhalt into the Hamburg-Munich north-south axis, which is in great demand, offers great potential for expanding the range of services. It currently runs via Hanover or Berlin. Even under current conditions, a third route via Magdeburg would mean only a slight increase in travel time and noticeably relieve the other two routes. DB AG is planning to expand the Magdeburg-Stendal line over the next few years. “In the course of this, the driving speed must be increased from the current 120 to initially 160 kilometers per hour,” demanded the minister.
Hüskens gave a third example from the strategy paper by extending the Magdeburg-Berlin long-distance line in the direction of Halberstadt and creating an efficient tourist axis between the federal capital and the Harz Mountains.
According to the minister, DB AG wants to implement an extensive construction program in the next eight years anyway, which will undoubtedly demand a lot from all rail passengers. “With the implementation of our catalog of demands, which I will hand over to Deutsche Bahn AG and the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport today, noticeable improvements can actually be achieved,” said Lydia Hüskens. The unfortunately unavoidable impairments in local and long-distance transport due to construction can only be communicated to people if our country receives clear locational advantages for the future,” she added in conclusion.
demands in detail
1. Intensification of the long-distance connections, which are only served sporadically today, to a 2-hour cycle by 2025 at the latest:
Magdeburg – Stendal – Hamburg/RostockMagdeburg – BerlinLeipzig – Weissenfels – Naumburg – Jena – Nuremberg
2. Additional new ICE north-south axis Hamburg/Rostock – Stendal – Magdeburg – Halle – Munich/Frankfurt (Main):
Magdeburg and Stendal get fast direct ICE connections to Hamburg and Munich in this way. The trains on this route between Hamburg and Nuremberg/Munich are just as long on the road as on the heavily used ICE main route via Hanover, Göttingen and Kassel and can therefore effectively relieve them with their additional capacities.
3. Integration of Dessau-Roßlau into the IC network:
Some of the existing Hanover-Leipzig IC connections are to be routed via Dessau-Roßlau, while the Magdeburg-Halle connection is guaranteed by the additional new ICE north-south connection (see 2nd requirement). Long-distance line Leipzig – Dessau-Roßlau – Potsdam – Berlin
4. Extension of the long-distance line Magdeburg – Berlin to the Harz Mountains:
Through the use of hybrid vehicles, a direct connection to and from Berlin can be created despite the lack of electrification of the routes in the northern Harz region.
5. Line upgrade for high speed:
In the long term, the axis Halle – Magdeburg – Stendal – Wittenberge must be expanded for 200 km/h in order to further accelerate ICE traffic. The construction of a connecting curve south of Stendal to the high-speed line in the direction of Berlin enables faster ICE connections from Magdeburg to Berlin.
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