Hamburg-Hanover Railway Line: Cities Demand New Construction

New momentum is entering the discussion about the future of the Hamburg-Hanover railway line. After Deutsche Bahn stated in September that it favored a new construction and had no plan B, several cities along the railway line are now turning to the Bundestag. The cities of Hanover, Hamburg, and Lüneburg demand a new construction in the appeal are also calling for a new construction instead of the expansion of the existing line favored by the state of Lower Saxony. A decision on the future of the line is expected by the end of 2025/beginning of 2026.

In September, the railway had stated that it considers both a general renovation of the existing line running east via Uelzen, Bad Bevensen, and Lüneburg, as well as a new construction, to be necessary. The latter would then run along the A7 motorway, passing through Bergen and past Soltau and Seevetal to Hamburg, to create additional capacity in the 2030s.

What the railway says about it

The railway argues that it examined 29 variants, and four of them were shortlisted. They were examined in more detail based on 200 criteria. The proposed preferred variant meets the criteria of the Deutschlandtakt and is suitable for creating space for more passenger and freight trains. Furthermore, numerous connections would be improved. The ICE journey between Hamburg and Hanover would be reduced by 20 minutes to 59 minutes. This would have positive effects on the entire federal territory. Soltau and Bergen would have significantly faster local transport connections.

The appeal by the municipalities also builds on this: The new line is indispensable for northern Germany and the mobility transition, they say. They refer to studies by the DB subsidiary DB InfraGO, according to which two additional tracks would be necessary to handle future traffic. The expansion of “Alpha-E,” on the other hand, envisages only one track. The existing line is already operating at 147 percent capacity. However, an additional track would only increase capacity by 20 percent, not 50 percent. “Bottlenecks and thus delays would remain,” it says in the letter, which was also signed by Hamburg's Mayor, Dr. Peter Tschentscher (SPD).

Affront to Lower Saxony's Minister President

The joint appeal lists the land requirement as a disadvantage of an expansion, which would affect many properties with houses. Adjacent nature reserves would also be impacted, and the existing line would be impaired for years. In Hamburg, a new construction is hoped to eliminate the bottleneck at Hamburg Central Station.

Lower Saxony's Minister President Olaf Lies (SPD), but also neighboring districts of the signatories, are likely to be furious considering the appeal: Lüneburg's Mayor Claudia Kalisch (Greens), Hanover's Mayor Belit Onay (Greens), and Hamburg's Senator for Transport Anjes Tjarks (Greens) are turning against the “Alpha-E” plan, agreed upon ten years ago, with very clear words. This was the result of a dialogue forum that Lies, still as Minister of Transport at the time, had initiated to reconcile the seemingly irreconcilable interests of the various stakeholders.

“Enough with a politically romanticized view of ten-year-old compromises,” rages Lüneburg's Mayor against the plan. This means that not only two major cities in Lower Saxony are opposing the state. The green-dominated appeal is sure to cause discussions within the red-green-state government as well.

(mki)