Stuttgart (dpa/lsw) - More comfort, faster travel and bicycle parking spaces: From December 11, regional trains will run on the new line from Wendlingen to Ulm at a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour, as announced by Deutsche Bahn and the Ministry of Transport in Stuttgart . Both signed a transport contract on Wednesday that runs until December 2027.
Bahn manager David Weltzien said that with the new Merklingen station, passengers would be coming from the Swabian Alb to Ulm every hour. "Once again it shows how valuable and groundbreaking major infrastructure projects are for regional transport." First, converted Intercity cars are used. They also have bicycle parking spaces available. New trains will be used from 2025, a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport said.
Department head Winfried Hermann (Greens) explained that the new line offers great opportunities for long-distance and local rail transport in Baden-Württemberg. "We want to seize this opportunity and are following the expansion of the infrastructure with the expansion of our local transport services."
The route will officially go into operation on December 11th with the timetable change. According to the announcement, the travel time between Stuttgart and Ulm will then be reduced by around 15 minutes. Trains can travel at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour on the new route, which partly runs parallel to the A8 motorway. Construction started in 2012. According to Deutsche Bahn, the costs amounted to 3.98 billion euros.
The new line is part of the Stuttgart-Ulm railway project. This also includes the underground station in the center of Stuttgart, including an underground connection to the airport and the high-speed railway line to Ulm. Commissioning is planned for 2025.
