North Main S-Bahn is being built | Frankfurt

Numerous railway projects are pending this year – among other things, the upgraded line from Frankfurt to Bad Vilbel will be completed.

In Frankfurt and the region, progress is being made on numerous railway projects this year. As a spokeswoman said on request, construction of the North Main S-Bahn is to begin this year. The railways are expecting the planning approval decisions for the sections in Frankfurt and Maintal in the summer.

Two new railway tracks are to be built on a 19.5 kilometer route from Frankfurt via Maintal to Hanau. S-Bahn trains are to run separately from long-distance traffic after the end of construction, probably in 2026.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bahn is planning a 1.9-kilometer tunnel from the Konstablerwache to the Ostbahnhof (Frankfurt-Ost) S-Bahn station. The old reception building is currently being demolished to make way for a hotel. Preliminary work in the form of green cuttings and the laying of lines are planned on Frankfurter Grund from January. In Hanau, the third construction phase, the railway will replace the level crossing on Frankfurter Landstraße with a railway overpass. From June onwards, cars will drive under the railway line on the Frankfurter Landstrasse.

The construction of two new tracks between Frankfurt Westbahnhof and Bad Vilbel should be completed by the end of the year. The S-Bahn will have its own tracks over a 13-kilometer stretch. According to the spokeswoman, Eschersheim will be the main building this year; the platforms would be dismantled and the second new long-distance track would be laid. The S-Bahn route is to be closed again for this purpose. The lock breaks are currently being coordinated with those involved, said the spokeswoman.

station will be finished later

The planning approval process for the new Ginnheim S-Bahn station is ongoing. The station will not be finished until the new tracks are already in operation. According to the information, the approval process is also running for the 17-kilometer section between Bad Vilbel and Friedberg.

The conversion of the B level at Frankfurt Central Station continues. The extensive B level is expected to become smaller and brighter by 2026. Video cameras and numerous shops are intended to ensure social control so that drugs are not openly consumed on the B level. In the future, travelers will be able to get from the U-Bahn and S-Bahn platforms directly to the long-distance and regional trains via a distribution level.

The construction of a long-distance railway tunnel through Frankfurt with four new platforms as an underground station in the main station should be completed in the 2040s. Deutsche Bahn plans to award engineering services by spring. Linked to this is the construction of a new bridge next to the listed Deutschherrnbrücke. The bridge construction is now to be put out to tender. An information event is planned for spring.

The construction of two new tracks for long-distance traffic between the Waldstadion and the thermal power station West in Frankfurt is continuing. The four-kilometer route should be open to traffic in 2029. As part of the “Knoten Frankfurt-Stadion” project, a third railway bridge is also being built in Niederrad over the Main. According to the information, new switches will be put into operation this year, tracks between Golfstraße and Niederrad station will be swiveled and a freight train ramp will be built.

The Westbahnhof is to become barrier-free this year. The station will get three new elevators. A staircase to the elevated platform is being built on Hamburger Allee. The entrance building and the underpass between Kasseler Strasse and Solmsstrasse will be renewed. The station will have a tactile guidance system, a public toilet and additional parking spaces for bicycles.

The Südbahnhof will also be barrier-free this year. The so-called A level from the entrance building to the platforms will have tactile guidance elements, as well as benches, waste bins, new signs and information columns with integrated monitors. An automatic door will be installed at the entrance to Mörfelder Landstrasse.

New elevators

In addition to the existing elevators to platforms 1 and 2, elevators to platforms 3, 4 and 5 will be built. The stairways to the three platforms will be renewed; Weather shelters are built. Platform 5 on track 9 will be raised from the current height of 38 centimeters to 76 centimeters over a length of 320 metres.

In long-distance traffic, Deutsche Bahn is renovating another section of the route between Hanover and Würzburg from April to December. In 2022, the section between Fulda and Würzburg was closed and renovated. Depending on the connection, travelers had to plan 20 to 60 minutes more time.

At the turn of the year, Deutsche Bahn submitted the planning approval documents to the Federal Railway Authority for the Wallauer Spange. Public participation takes place as part of the planning approval process. The Wallauer Spange is four kilometers of new tracks between Wiesbaden and Frankfurt Airport; By the end of 2027, the new line should reduce the travel time between Wiesbaden main station and the long-distance train station at the airport to 16 minutes.

Deutsche Bahn wants to continue the technical planning in the individual sections of the new line for long-distance and freight trains between Frankfurt and Mannheim by 2030. Ground investigations are planned between Weiterstadt and Pfungstadt from February. The railway is examining underground route options between Einhausen and Lorsch.