An ICE from Berlin to Görlitz: this is at best a dream of the future. Although the prime minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer (CDU) recently announced it the ICE route between Berlin and Görlitz will be implemented, there is still no ICE from the federal capital to the metropolis of Lower Silesia. Questioned by MDR SACHSEN, the Saxon Ministry of Economy led by the SPD clarified that the goal was “to electrify the existing railway link between Cottbus and Görlitz with two tracks and upgrade it to speeds of up to 160 km / h.” This is listed in the Investment Act for Coal Regions.
In addition, the electrification of the Görlitz railway station is to be implemented as a so-called system separation point with a connection to the Polish direct current grid. The concept of The Ministry of Economy considers the “via ICE” to be misleading.since the expansion of the railway infrastructure serves basically all modes of transport and is not geared towards the use of certain types of products. “Put simply: if this is not necessary, only regional trains will continue to run between Görlitz and Cottbus with changes the direction of Berlin Because Kretschmer speaks from an ICE route, the State Chancellery did not want to answer when asked and referred to the statements of the competent Ministry of Economy.
Expansion plan until 2038
The Ministry of Economy also said that “according to Deutsche Bahn, the construction works should be completed by the end of 2038”. The total investment is estimated at around 1.65 billion euros. Discussions are ongoing with Brandenburg on the ordered rail service, which will be offered after enlargement and paid for by the federal states. The DB itself decides on a possible long-distance transport with ICE or IC. Another supplier, like Flixtrain, could theoretically drive there at their own expense.
Between Berlin and Cottbus, where Deutsche Bahn is planning an ICE system, the route is electrified and is already used by individual intercity trains. Between Cottbus and Görlitz via Weißwasser, diesel powered railcars operated by the East German Railways Company (ODEG). An extension of the route around the Reichwalde opencast mine must also be planned in this section.
Deutsche Bahn is reluctant to comment on costs and schedules
Deutsche Bahn refers to the ongoing plans e does not comment on the program or costs. “With the Investment Act for Coal Regions (InvKG), the federal government has created the basis for the further extension of the railway line between Berlin and Görlitz.” On the Berlin – Cottbus section “the focus is on the individual measures on the line and on the stations. On the Cottbus – Görlitz section, a continuous expansion to two tracks and electrification of the line is planned”.
It is a question of better connecting the former brown coal regions to the metropolitan regions after the end of mining. “DB will take into account the evolution of demand associated with the gradual implementation of structural strengthening measures in supply planning,” promises the transport group, without specifically announcing an ECI.
The passenger association doubts the ICE in Görlitz
The Pro Bahn Passenger Association said: “Prime Minister Kretschmer’s statement is really difficult to classify because an ICE train only needs an electrified route as a special feature.” Previous plans to expand at speeds of 200 kilometers per hour and beyond are now history. The passenger association is skeptical that DB will offer ICE trains alone. A payment for long-distance traffic across countries, as is currently the case between Dresden and Chemnitz or Erfurt and Gera, is only an emergency solution. Since the railway reform with the merger of the Deutsche Reichsbahn and the Deutsche Bundesbahn to form the Deutsche Bahn AG, regional transport has been paid for by the federal states, while the DB AG operates long-distance trains for economic reasons.
Focus on Eurocity instead of internal ICE
According to the passenger association, it is “a general failure of politics and railways that the development of long-distance transport has focused on the ICE and the enormous potential of a joint development of long-distance transport in Lusatia with neighbors. Poles and Czechs were not considered “. The ICE “is not suitable for Poland and the Czech Republic”, ie it cannot be used under the airline there. This is due to the different power systems of European railways. “DB Fernverkehr has in its inventory not a single locomotive that would technically be able to drive in Poland and the Czech RepublicAccording to the passenger association (DB AG has ICE multi-system trains that travel daily in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Ed.)
He goes on to say: “The PKP Intercity would have long had trains bound for Görlitz central station if the German side had pulled the 800 meters of contact wire that hung here between 1923 and 1946 from the Neisse viaduct to Görlitz central station. “. In 2003, Poland and Germany committed to this in a state treaty. “This state treaty was promptly implemented by the Polish side, but not by the German side.”
Lusatia was once a European railway hub
According to the passengers’ association, Lusatia was “once a hub of European rail transport”. East-west and north-south traffic flows intersected in Cottbus and Görlitz. “If I were to focus instead on ICE trains, for example, on Eurocity trains Berlin – Cottbus – Wroclaw – Krakow – Przemysl – Lviv – Kyiv or Frankfurt am Main – Leipzig – Dresden – Görlitz – Wroclaw – Warsaw, this traffic would certainly be cheaper. as an internal-German “final traffic” Berlin – Cottbus – Görlitz. ” In addition, the Polish side could also approach Berlin-Brandenburg BER airport directly from Wroclaw. “He has expressed a great interest in this for years.”
At the same time, the passenger association is asking for the electrification of the railway line from Görlitz to Zittau in order to be able to offer modern long-distance transport from the Czech side via Liberec to Prague. The Dresden – Bautzen – Görlitz section also needs to be electrified and upgraded “promptly”. “But it is important that these routes are not financially played against each other,” says Pro Bahn.
