Railway plan: Update for railway digitization will not come until 2026

“The railways are in poor condition,” stated Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder on Monday. This cannot remain the case. To this end, CDU politician Schnieder presented his reform proposals for the railways in Berlin. “Reliable, punctual, safe, and clean” is the mantra that Schnieder has been repeating for weeks.

While the minister lowered the punctuality requirements, he did not just present his “agenda for satisfied rail customers” in Berlin on Monday morning. Schnieder also brought along two faces who are to implement this: Evelyn Palla as the new head of Deutsche Bahn and Dirk Rompf as a candidate for the top position at the infrastructure company InfraGo, which is responsible for rails, stations, control and signaling technology (LST), and the fiber optic networks of the railway lines. The infrastructure subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn is to become even more independent from the DB Group in the future.

Some responsibilities also affect customers: “We will offer the DB Navigator as a platform for everyone at the public-interest-oriented InfraGo,” Schnieder announced. This is clearly intended to further advance the decoupling of rail transport infrastructure services and the Deutsche Bahn Group. What this means in concrete terms for the use of the app and its connection to services such as BahnBonus or the BahnCard is currently still unclear.

Rail customers will also have to get used to more digitalization in other areas: with even more video surveillance but also more security personnel, the stations and stops also operated by InfraGo are to become safer and cleaner, thus contributing to Schnieder's goal of customer satisfaction.

Concept for rail digitalization not until the end of 2026

The potential of digitalization must be tapped step by step on the railways, said Dirk Rompf, the designated head of InfraGo. This applies to signal boxes, a stable 5G network, and planning and control tools. 10 billion euros will be available for this purpose from the federal government's special infrastructure fund until 2029. However, according to the railway's own calculations, the investment required for the digitization of the railway would amount to a high double-digit billion euro figure, depending on what exactly is included in the calculation.

Control and signaling technology such as digital interlockings or the safety systems in the rail infrastructure are only part of the costs. Rolling stock such as railcars, locomotives, and wagons are also largely not fit for the new era and would have to be replaced or modernized.

However, Minister Schnieder has not yet been able to outline exactly what this will look like. For now, his railway agenda only contains an announcement: the binding proposal for the digitization of the railways is not due to be presented until next year. Meanwhile, the industry and, above all, InfraGo are to develop a concept. The question of how exactly the further expansion of the Future Railway Mobile Communications System (FRMCS), which is replacing GSM train radio, and the 5G expansion along the railway lines can be further integrated is also to be answered with a further concept.

In the past, big plans have been announced time and again, some of which have also been tested. In practice, however, railway customers have seen little of this so far. As part of the renovation of the Hamburg-Berlin line, a pilot project is currently being built for joint FRMCS and 5G customer radio operation by several providers on railway-owned masts along the line.

(dahe)