Companies are calling for a double-track expansion of the Eifel line 05/02/24
< Back to listAuthor: DVZ editorial team
Companies are calling for a double-track expansion of the Eifel line
The Eifel route between Trier and Cologne is for many the most important connection to rail transport. More than 20 companies are now calling for their expansion. Among them are well-known shippers as well as medium-sized logistics companies and the port of Trier.
More than 20 companies in a newly founded alliance are calling for the double-track expansion of the Eifel line between Trier-Ehrang and Hürth near Cologne. The 160-kilometer-long route is the most important rail connection for the region, the Alliance for the Expansion of the Eifel Line announced on Monday in Trier. Since the railway line is largely single-track, it cannot develop its potential. The expansion is important, among other things, to strengthen freight transport by rail - and to make the region more accessible, it was said.
The railway line was badly damaged in the floods in July 2021. Since then, repair work has been underway and not all sections of the route are yet passable. In parallel to the work, preparations are underway for electrification of the Eifel line by the end of 2026.
The first step is to expand the route to two tracks of around 10 kilometers in order to have alternative options for oncoming traffic, said Rüdiger Meurer from the Arla Foods dairy from the alliance. This means that one freight train per hour is possible. The complete expansion could be realized by 2038, said Meurer. So far the route is not used for freight traffic.
“We are now calling on politicians to act,” said Marcus Schumacher from Gerolsteiner Brunnen. The double-track expansion of the Eifel line is “a necessary prerequisite” in order to shift transport from road to rail and thus achieve the climate goals. Other companies in the alliance include the Bitburger Braugruppe, the Moselstahlwerk, Dr. Oetker the logistics companies Am Zehnhoff-Söns Group, Gebrüder Müller, Krüger Logistik, Rothschild Logistic Group, Spedition Ludwig and the Port of Trier.
Combined road, rail and waterway transport is the lever for the port of Trier to connect the regional economy to the European and intercontinental freight transport markets. The port company wants to expand and modernize the logistics hub over the next five years. In order for the region's economy to make its contribution to the transport transition, it is necessary to expand the required infrastructure in addition to the construction activities in the port. “This also includes improving the rail connection to and from the port of Trier,” said Volker Klassen, Managing Director of Trier Hafengesellschaft mbH. “The electrification and thus the upgrading of the Eifel route for freight traffic is an important project.”
“The possibilities for freight transport were created around 20 years ago at Gerolstein train station,” added Hans Ludwig, managing director of Ludwig Spedition- und Handelsgesellschaft. However, the right infrastructural conditions cannot only be found in Gerolstein. Large sections of the route still offer sufficiently wide track beds for a second track due to decades of double-tracking.
The alliance announced that it wanted to hold discussions with local and state politicians about its demands. The alliance was unable to provide any information about costs. (dpa/cs)