Overview

• More than 100 representatives from politics, environmental groups and citizen initiatives at the “Heidegipfel” in Bispingen urged Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder to stop the new-build plan immediately.
• Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil warned that breaking hard‑won compromises erodes public trust and pressed for adherence to the 2015 Dialogforum Schiene Nord agreement to upgrade existing lines, saying federal authorities will closely track Deutsche Bahn’s planning.
• Lower Saxony transport minister Grant Hendrik Tonne criticized DB’s needs assessment, argued the proposed route would cut across the countryside rather than follow the A7, and demanded a spatial‑compatibility review.
• Deutsche Bahn continues to favor constructing a new high‑capacity line, citing one of Germany’s most overloaded corridors and the goals of the nationwide Deutschlandtakt timetable.
• Reporting indicates the Bundestag could decide later this year, as opponents warn of major landscape and noise impacts in the Lüneburger Heide and Alpha‑E supporters contend upgrades could deliver quicker relief.