Overview
- Deutsche Bahn disclosed Monday that planning and construction for the German feeder from Munich to the Austrian border are now estimated at €8.57 billion with roughly €7.6 billion set aside for risk and inflation, bringing the package close to €16 billion.
- Project leader Johannes Neumaier said the inflation buffer was deliberately high—with provisions up to 10 percent—but added that DB intends to use risk management to avoid spending the full contingency.
- The preferred German alignment would run about 64 kilometres with 39 kilometres tunneled because prolonged local opposition in Bavaria pushed the company toward deeper tunneling to limit surface impact.
- The Federal Ministry of Transport will forward DB’s planning files, a ministerial report and the Federal Railway Authority’s assessment to the Bundestag, which must now decide the final German route and the project’s next legal steps.
- The feeder is essential to use the Brenner Base Tunnel and to speed travel on the Scan‑Med corridor; Austria and Italy have progressed further on their links while Germany’s choice will shape costs, local disruption and whether service can match the tunnel’s planned operation from 2032.