Overview

• Deutsche Bahn presented a new Hamburg–Hannover high-speed alignment in late June to relieve chronic congestion and prepare for rising freight volumes.
• The plan has been formally submitted to the Bundestag’s transport committee and requires a simple majority in parliament for approval.
• Prominent Lower Saxony representatives such as Cornell Babendererde (CDU) and Svenja Stadler (SPD) have pledged to vote against the project and back upgrading the existing line instead.
• Proponents including Jakob Blankenburg (SPD) and Julia Verlinden (Greens) argue the new corridor would minimize impacts on nature and communities and accommodate traffic growth linked to the Fehmarnbelt tunnel.
• Several MPs, led by Vivian Tauschwitz (CDU), insist on further detailed studies of land use and environmental effects before any parliamentary decision.