The German rail carrier Deutsche Bahn has unveiled plans to modernise its rail network across Germany. It is hoped that the modernisation will generate thousands of jobs and improve the quality of public transport across the country.
While some of the money will be spent on modernising train stations, the vast majority of the funds will be used to upgrade tracks, bridges and switches in the rail network. According to DB, the planned modernisations include upgrading 1.900 kilometres of track and 140 bridges.
To undertake the ambitious project, DB has said that it will take on 2.000 engineers to bolster its construction workforce, as well as 1.700 maintenance workers. The company will also create more positions for building managers at train stations.
DB has stated that the company intends to place rail traffic and punctuality at the forefront of its priorities with the upcoming modernisations, adding that having the ability to control passenger and cargo rail traffic flow will lead to less rail disruptions.
A set of infrastructure expansion projects have already been named in different cities across Germany, including on services between Nuremberg and Erfurt, Berlin and Dresden, and Braunschweig to Wolfsburg. It is hoped that such a large investment project will lay the foundations for DB’s new nationwide transportation project, Deutschlandtakt - an ambitious plan to convert all rail traffic in Germany to a nationwide timetable by 2030.