Germany’s nationwide rail provider has announced that it will refurbish every third train station in the next seven years, and will close many major routes across the country in order to do so.

Deutsche Bahn announces train station renovations across Germany

The halls and platforms of Germany’s sprawling railway network are poised for an upgrade. According to reports by the dpa, Deutsche Bahn has revealed that it will renovate every third train station across Germany by 2030. 

Deutsche Bahn has said that the renovation plans have been made in agreement with the Federal Ministry for Transport and should mean that stations in Germany better meet the demands of travellers.

Currently, Deutsche Bahn owns around 5.400 train stations. According to the dpa, 1.800 of these will be included in the renovation plans.

Popular train routes will be prioritised for DB station renovations

The first endeavours to make Germany’s stations better fit for purpose will begin with the most popular routes in the country. In the latter half of 2024, building works on the route between Mannheim and Frankfurt will kick off the major project. 

Naturally, upgrading stations will first entail making them totally defunct. It is expected that many major routes will close for six months at a time so that station renovations can be done in one go.

A recent report into the condition of Germany’s train network found that the outdated system is worse than networks in neighbouring countries. In the long term, Deutsche Bahn hopes that the renovations will improve the company’s infamously poor punctuality record and mean greater capacity across the network.

How much will it cost and who’s going to build it?

While plans are going full steam ahead, a few questions remain unanswered. Along with a lack of trained staff to actually begin the major construction project, Deutsche Bahn is still hopefully and repeatedly counting its pennies when it comes to securing the necessary budget.

Back in March, the German government projected that Deutsche Bahn would need 45 billion euros to cover construction costs between now and 2027, costs they say will be covered “as far as financially feasible”. In its latest assessment of fund distribution, the rail company said that it will dedicate just 28 billion to infrastructure projects before 2026.

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