Overview
- The Bundestag's Transport Committee issued a positive recommendation that lets Deutsche Bahn/DB InfraGO move to detailed planning for a 109-kilometre two-track new line between Hannover-Vinnhorst and Hamburg-Meckelfeld.
- The route is intended to relieve the chronically overloaded Hamburg–Hannover corridor, enable a 63-minute Deutschlandtakt connection between the cities, and strengthen port hinterland freight links.
- Project costs are currently estimated at about €14 billion, full long-term funding is not yet secured, and experts expect actual service on the new line not before the middle of the century.
- The federal railway regulator (EBA) judged the DB InfraGO preferred variant compatible with rules on economy and efficiency, but many regional requests for extra noise protection and additional halts were ruled not financially feasible.
- Lawmakers pledged parallel work on the existing corridor including roughly €250 million for upgrades through 2034, yet counties and municipalities in Lower Saxony still oppose the chosen alignment over noise, nature and local-access concerns.