The Federal Court of Auditors has issued a warning regarding a costly interim solution proposed for the new rail connection linking Germany to Denmark. The intended route segment between the German mainland and the island of Fehmarn was originally planned to utilize a tunnel. However, due to construction delays, Deutsche Bahn is currently considering electrifying the existing railway line on the Fehmarn Belt Bridge, a project estimated to cost over €60 million.
The audit controllers heavily criticize this idea. According to a confidential report cited by “Spiegel”, the costs are “considerable and continuing to rise,” and there are doubts as to whether such a stopgap measure could handle the demands of future rail traffic.
Furthermore, the report indicates that the German rail connector might not be completed in 2029 as originally planned; instead, a completion date of 2032 is now possible, with a significantly higher price tag of €10.7 billion compared to the initial estimate of €8.05 billion. While a railway spokesperson stated that no new timeline or definitive clarity on the costs or the bridge integration has been provided, it was noted that freight trains should not be running there.
