Motion comes to the Bundestag: Coalition paves the way for rail expansion between Hamburg and Hanover

There has been a dispute about the railway line between Hanover and Hamburg for years. Now the black-red coalition is submitting a joint proposal. However, it could be decades before the first trains roll.

The long dispute over a new railway line between Hanover and Hamburg is about to be decided in the Bundestag. The black-red coalition agreed on a proposal, as the German Press Agency learned from coalition circles. The Transport Committee is due to deal with the project this Wednesday, and then the entire Bundestag late on Thursday evening.

The application states that the Bundestag determines that a new line will achieve goals such as creating additional capacity and reducing travel times in long-distance and local transport. The proposed resolution also provides for significant improvements to the heavily used existing route.

There is now a liability for the urgently needed expansion of the existing building, it was said from coalition circles. On the other hand, the application takes up demands, for example for more noise protection on a new line. According to the application, there should also be improvements for the Harburg district. The construction project is controversial in Lower Saxony. A new double-track construction is planned between Hanover-Vinnhorst and Hamburg-Meckelfeld with a route length of 109 kilometers.

The discussion in the Bundestag is an important step for the new line. If the Bundestag clears the way, the railway can continue planning the new route. However, it could still be decades before the first trains run over a new route. Two weeks ago, the black-red coalition in the federal government postponed a decision on the new line. Isabel Cademartori, transport policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, said that MPs still saw a need for changes. In a briefing from the Ministry of Transport to the committee it is stated that the federal government recommends confirming the so-called preferred variant of the rail infrastructure division DB InfraGO as the basis for further planning.