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Greens in Saarland: Now speed up reactivated railway lines!
The Greens are calling for rapid measures to reactivate old railway lines in Saarland, including the Merzig-Losheim line.
Greens in Saarland: Now speed up reactivated railway lines!
The reactivation of old railway lines in Saarland has gained increasing momentum in recent months. This is a large project that is crucial for future transport development in the region. The Green Party state chairman Volker Morbe emphasized on Tuesday in Saarbrücken that there is a risk of failure if the state government delays the implementation of the measures. He called for more speed in implementation and better involvement of municipalities in the planning processes. The current opportunity must be used to avoid long-term disadvantages. Saarbrücken newspaper reports that Morbe made his demands during a press conference.
On November 12, 2024, Minister Petra Berg presented the results of a comprehensive feasibility study on the reactivation of railway lines in Saarland. The Saarland public transport development plan, which was adopted in 2021, identifies five railway routes with reactivation potential. These are:
- Rosseltalbahn (Saarbrücken – Fürstenhausen – Großrosseln)
- Bisttalbahn (Fürstenhausen/Völklingen – Hostenbach – Überherrn)
- Ehemalige Merzig-Büschfelder-Eisenbahn (Merzig – Losheim am See)
- Primstalbahn (Dillingen/Saarlouis – Körprich – Lebach/Schmelz – Wadern)
- Bliestalbahn (Homburg – Schwarzenacker – Blieskastel-Lautzkirchen)
Financing and cost-benefit analysis
The financial resources for reactivation will receive significant support from the federal government, which will support up to 90 percent of the investment costs if the benefit-cost ratio (NKV) is greater than 1. When analyzing the individual routes, different variants were examined with regard to the operating concept and technical design.
The results of the cost-benefit analysis showed particularly positive NKV values for the following routes:
| route | NKV |
|---|---|
| Primstalbahn | 3.8 |
| Merzig – Losheim (half hourly) | 1.87 |
| Merzig – Losheim (hourly) | 1.63 |
| Bisttalbahn and Rosseltalbahn (S-Bahn variant) | 1.12 |
The positive results of these studies will now be presented to the affected cities, municipalities and districts. They have until the end of the first quarter of 2025 to make resolutions. The Council of Ministers plans to make a final decision on how to proceed in the second quarter of 2025, which could have a significant impact on future mobility in the region. The need for quick decision is also emphasized by Saarland.de underlined.