As of: March 12, 2024, 2:15 p.m
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Winfried Hermann, Transport Minister of Baden-Württemberg, speaks at a press conference.
© Marijan Murat/dpa
Will the new Stuttgart underground station go into operation at the end of 2025 or will there be another delay?
Transport Minister Hermann is now proposing not to start until sufficient testing has been carried out.
Stuttgart - Baden-Württemberg's Transport Minister Winfried Hermann has suggested postponing the commissioning of the Stuttgart 21 rail project in favor of sufficient test runs.
Due to delays in the construction and installation of the digital infrastructure, there is no time to adequately test the rail junction.
But these tests are needed in advance for a stable start, said the Green politician on Tuesday in Stuttgart.
“It would be possible to start testing and practicing at the end of 2025 - and when it works, you make the change first and not before,” said Hermann, who had already warned several times about a “bumpy start”.
According to current plans, the new underground station is scheduled to go into operation in December 2025.
In recent months, however, more and more doubts have arisen as to whether this deadline can be met.
At the beginning of December, Deutsche Bahn, the developer of the project, reported problems with the installation of the digital infrastructure.
DB infrastructure director Berthold Huber said that several milestones had not been reached.
The Stuttgart 21 project represents the complete reorganization of the Stuttgart rail hub, not just the reconstruction of the state capital's main train station.
New train stations, dozens of kilometers of railway tracks and tunnels, culverts and bridges are being built.
In addition to Stuttgart 21, the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project also includes the new construction of the already opened Wendlingen-Ulm line.
The railway currently estimates the costs of the project at around eleven billion euros.
There have been several significant cost increases in recent years.
dpa