According to research by the association Die Güterbahnen, no railway lines will be built or upgraded in Germany in 2023. Despite the government's announcement of a rapid capacity expansion programme in 2021, there will be no new construction, expansion, or line reactivation in 2023. According to the association, an average of 23.2 km of new lines have been built or improved with overhead lines every year over the past six years. Numerous projects that were originally planned for 2023 have had to be postponed, including the double-tracking of the Gäubahn line and the expansion of the Weddel loop. The association is calling for better control of the implementation of network expansion through infrastructure monitoring and greater prioritisation of new construction and expansion. It also criticised the unclear financing of the additional €45 billion announced for new construction, expansion, and electrification by 2027.
