-100 days after commissioning of the Riedbahn
Copyright: DB AG/Oliver Lang
Improved quality despite increased utilisation of the line – infrastructure-related disruptions noticeably reduced – punctuality in local and long-distance services significantly improved
Berlin, 31 March 2025
Three months after the Riedbahn went into operation, Deutsche Bahn (DB) has presented a preliminary assessment. The successful general refurbishment has significantly improved punctuality figures on the route between Frankfurt/Main and Mannheim. At the same time, the number of infrastructure-related disruptions has fallen noticeably.
In February 2025, for example, the RE 70 and S-Bahn commuter trains were on time by an average of 20 percentage points more than in the same month last year. Long-distance trains that arrive late on the Riedbahn were able to reduce their delays on the route by a third. The number of infrastructure-related disruptions also fell by 27 per cent compared to the same month last year, while the average capacity utilisation of the route increased by 5 per cent.
Philipp Nagl, CEO of DB InfraGO AG: ‘Three months after completing our pilot project for the general refurbishments, we are very satisfied with the development. We have succeeded in significantly improving the quality of the facilities on the line – and the punctuality figures are also on the right track. The volume of disruptions has already fallen significantly, by 50 per cent on some days. Over the course of the year, we expect a reduction of up to 80 per cent. The results show: The general modernisation concept is working. The task now is to further refurbish the existing network in order to achieve even more tangible improvements for our customers.’
During the general refurbishment of the Riedbahn, DB completely replaced the fault-prone old technology on the busy line between Frankfurt/Main and Mannheim within five months, renewing not only the tracks, points, signals and stations, but also the entire control and safety technology.
‘We have thoroughly analysed the experiences from the pilot project. We will apply the findings to the other general refurbishments and make changes where necessary,’ Nagl continues. ‘The Riedbahn has shown that the installation of new control and safety technology in particular is highly complex and time-consuming. That’s why we will increase our testing capacities and improve the assembly processes together with our partners.’
DB also intends to significantly reduce the size of the award lots in the future in order to attract more suppliers to the construction industry, which is characterised by medium-sized companies.
Construction and transport concept successfully implemented
Together with the construction companies involved, DB has realised an enormous amount of work within the specified schedule of five months and with up to 800 employees and 140 vehicles on the construction site every day. It is roughly four times the volume of other major maintenance projects. The general refurbishment concept, which provides for the cross-trade bundling of all upcoming construction measures within a period of several months, was thus successfully implemented for the first time.
The extensive transport concept also ran smoothly during the five-month construction phase and met with a positive response from customers. In regional transport, DB launched an extensive replacement service with 150 modern buses, which covered around six million kilometres. This was a success, as representative passenger surveys showed, in which travellers gave the replacement service a score of 1.75. During the general refurbishment, long-distance and goods trains travelled on diversion routes that had previously been upgraded. Companies with sidings were reliably supplied by freight transport, for which around 726 service journeys were carried out during the five-month construction period.