Position Paper: Reactivation of Railway Lines in Germany

ARL Position Paper

The reactivation of railway lines is crucial for sustainable spatial development and mobility in Germany. However, the implementation of these projects varies between federal states.

This position paper by the Academy for Territorial Development  in the Leibniz Association (ARL) compares the procedures and instruments used by nine states, revealing that most examine disused lines for their potential, using multi-stage procedures. Schleswig-Holstein and Baden-Württemberg are highly active in reactivating railway lines, while Brandenburg, Thuringia, and Bavaria show lower activity levels. Concrete reactivation projects show that a positive feasibility study is not always enough to enable rapid implementation, leading to delays. Despite progress made through the ‘Standardised Assessment of Transport Infrastructure Investments in Local Public Transport’, many federal states lack concepts for systematically promoting lines with potential.

To improve reactivation, federal states should give greater priority and develop clear concepts to eliminate uncertainties among actors involved. Key recommendations include a higher political priority for reactivation, comprehensive regional transport planning concepts, more tightly scheduled planning processes, amendment of the General Railway Act to avoid costly approval procedures, and monitoring of reactivation projects through funding applications and proof of use.

Source (in German): 

ARL-net.de

Full Position Paper 

Critical Links in European Multimodal Freight Networks and how to identify them

Picture by Sathvik Gadiraju, Panteia

Panteia has developed a tool to help policymakers and planners understand the impact of disruptions to transportation networks on economic development.

The tool combines freight travel behaviour and criticality measures and demonstrates that certain link removals can increase transport costs by €500-€800 million annually. It also includes an impact assessment dashboard to visualise the geographical impact of single-link removal.

This simulation framework evaluates the criticality of links in Europe’s multimodal freight network, balancing operational accuracy with computational efficiency. The framework consists of three core components: NUTS 3-level trip distribution, modal splits using a choice model, and generalised travel cost-based routing using traffic assignments. It quantifies network-wide impacts using graph-based and operations-based metrics. The framework and software provide policymakers and transportation planners with a practical tool to prioritise maintenance, upgrades, and risk mitigation across Europe’s freight network.

Sources: 

Panteia.com

Mont Blanc Tunnel closed for Renovation Work

Symbolic picture by Laura Adai on Unsplash

The Mont Blanc road tunnel, a significant freight passage between France and Italy, will be closed until December 12, 2025 for renovation work.

However, there is little prospect of a modal shift to rail, as 90% of trucks are expected to be re-routed to the Fréjus alpine road tunnel. The Mont Blanc tunnel, which handles around 1,700 HGVs daily, was closed last autumn for the same duration.

Alexandre Gallo, President and CEO of DB Cargo France, criticised the lack of consultation and coordination between French government departments for the closures. He emphasised that road transport in France is tax-free, and rail freight on the French-Italian corridor via the Alps will only take off when the Lyon-Turin tunnel is in service, with limited gradients and an extended gauge to P400. The Lyon-Turin tunnel is scheduled to open in 2033 at the earliest.

Source:

Vibewire.com.au