Concerns about the expansion of railroad lines in Saxony

Several parties represented in the Saxon state parliament are concerned about the current postponement of rail projects in Saxony. "If certain expansion plans are now being put on hold, this is an indictment of the federal government," criticized Marco Böhme, transport policy spokesman for the left-wing parliamentary group, in Dresden on Tuesday. In addition to maintenance, the rail infrastructure must above all be expanded quickly.

According to unconfirmed media reports, in addition to the further expansion of the Saxony-Franconia main line, the second construction phase Dresden-Berlin is also on an internal list of cuts, which DB Infrago, the infrastructure division of Deutsche Bahn (DB), is said to have sent to the Supervisory Board. The background to this is the budget ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court. At the end of last year, the court ruled that the federal government may not set aside emergency loans for later years. Saechsische.de previously reported on this.

A reallocation of federal funds for the construction and expansion of the rail infrastructure would be "a bitter setback for the Free State", according to the Saxon Green parliamentary group. "If we want to remain attractive as a place to live and do business in the future, we need good rail connections and a reliable rail network," said transport policy spokesperson Gerhard Liebscher.

The AfD parliamentary group also criticized a possible halt to the expansion of the rail network in Saxony.

However, Deutsche Bahn has stated that it intends to continue with its expansion and new construction projects. "We are committed to our strategy of strong rail and therefore also to our expansion and new construction projects," said DB Board Member for Infrastructure Berthold Huber. There are no plans to cancel individual projects. In view of the difficult budget situation at the end of last year, the timing of the projects had to be reviewed at short notice. "Projects that are already under construction will continue unchanged," the statement continued. For all other projects, planning will continue until the financing has been fully clarified.

The Saxon Ministry of Transport says it has not yet received any information on the current postponement of rail projects in Saxony. "We are in regular contact with the federal government and Deutsche Bahn and expect that the Saxon measures will be processed with the appropriate priority," the ministry said in response to an inquiry.