Government factions want speed in infrastructure construction

The government factions in Berlin want to speed up the construction of infrastructure projects. In addition to 138 highway projects that will be implemented primarily in western Germany, however, rail lines located in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are also to be expanded. In the draft law, the federal government lists projects with an urgent need. The construction lies in the "outstanding public interest".

This includes the already planned projects on the routes Berlin-Dresden, Nuremberg-Erfurt, Leipzig-Dresden and the expansion of the nodes Dresden, Erfurt, Halle/Leipzig and Magdeburg. New projects such as the expansion of the Magdeburg-Halle line or Halle/Leipzig-Erfurt are also classified as priority needs. New additions according to the amendment are the upgraded line from Hildesheim via Dessau to Halle, electrification around Chemnitz Central Station and the line from Hockeroda in Thuringia to Bavaria. These routes could also be upgraded to priority needs, the bill says.

The railroad initially did not want to comment on the listed routes when asked by the Deutsche Presse-Agentur. A spokeswoman said that the list is currently being evaluated internally. The transport policy spokeswoman of the Green Party in the Thuringian state parliament, Laura Wahl, welcomed the decision that the railroad line through the Höllental valley between Blankenstein and Marxgrün in Bavaria was included in the rail demand plan. Thus the reactivation of the distance moves a good piece more near.

With the planned law change the Federal Government wants to change the legal defaults for planning and permission procedures, in order to accelerate building projects. The plans have drawn criticism from environmental groups.