Politicians warn of fewer DB long-distance services in the east

Politicians from various parties in Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt have warned against fewer long-distance Deutsche Bahn connections to and from eastern Germany. "The rail network in the east must not be thinned out any further. It is the responsibility of the Federal Minister of Transport to intervene here," demanded the chairman of the Thuringian CDU, Mario Voigt, on Wednesday. A reduction in services would also harm Thuringia economically. "The federal government, as the owner of the railroads, must not allow the east to be left behind."

The mobility policy spokesman for the left-wing parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament, Marco Böhme, and the chairman of the left-wing group in the Bundestag, Sören Pellmann, also demanded that the already limited long-distance services in the east should not be cut back any further. A permanently good rail service is important as an alternative to the car.

"The plans would be another blow to the east. No rail connection should disappear. This incompetent railroad board should finally be replaced," BSW head Sahra Wagenknecht told the German Press Agency. She called on the East German state premiers to phone the Chancellor immediately and protest.

Increasing costs for the railroads expected

The reason for this is the sharp rise in train path prices for Deutsche Bahn (DB), which threatens to lead to more expensive tickets and fewer connections. The track access charges are fees levied by the DB infrastructure company InfraGo. All companies that use the rail infrastructure have to pay them, including Deutsche Bahn's own transport companies.

The specific details of how the cancellation of individual connections at Deutsche Bahn will be discussed remain open. According to a report in "Der Spiegel", Deutsche Bahn has already drawn up a list of long-distance connections that are to be thinned out or canceled. Deutsche Bahn would not comment on the list or on specific plans for cuts.

According to the "Spiegel" report, Intercity lines 61 (Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Aalen - Crailsheim - Nuremberg - Leipzig), 51 (Gera - Weimar - Erfurt - Gotha - Kassel - Dortmund - Cologne) and 34 (Norddeich Mole - Münster - Dortmund - Siegen - Frankfurt) could be cut completely. In addition, according to "Spiegel", the number of ICE journeys to Stralsund on the Baltic Sea in the low season is to be greatly reduced. The magazine refers to a letter from Deutsche Bahn to the Federal Network Agency from the beginning of February.

Politician: "Don't leave the East behind"

"If you act in a way that ignores people's needs because the profit is not right, you have to ask yourself whether you are still fulfilling your basic task. Cutting off entire regions, especially in the east, is irresponsible and fatal," wrote Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens), Vice-President of the Bundestag from Thuringia, on X in response to the "Spiegel" report.

The state chairwoman of the Greens in Saxony-Anhalt, Madeleine Linke, also reacted indignantly on X: The IC line between Hanover and Leipzig is also at stake. "The state of Saxony-Anhalt and the state capital Magdeburg cannot put up with this. We are not the East that has been left behind. We want more long-distance transport, not less!"

Paula Piechotta, chairwoman of the eastern regional group in the Green parliamentary group, made a suggestion: "In the short term, an increase in track access charge subsidies could help, but to solve the problem in the long term, a revision of the track access charge system with an amendment to the Railway Regulation Act is the cleanest solution."