Lower Saxony intensifies railway reactivation: Lüneburg-Soltau in focus!

Lower Saxony intensifies railway reactivation: Lüneburg-Soltau in focus!

The reactivation of disused railway lines in Lower Saxony continues to gain momentum. At a meeting of the steering committee led by Transport Minister Grant Hendrik Tonne on Monday in Hanover, it was decided to push ahead with the revival of the railway line between Lüneburg and Soltau. As landeszeitung.de reports, the plans are now in the starting blocks to initiate the plan approval process in September 2025. Test operations could start as early as 2027.

A parliamentary steering committee, which was founded in April 2023, is intended to support the examination of further reactivation projects. Lower Saxony has particular hope for the Buchholz-Jesteburg-Harburg route, the development of which could receive new impetus from the federal government and the railways. The situation is different for the Tostedt-Zeven and Bleckede-Lüneburg routes, whose prospects look rather bleak according to current information.

Advances in railway reactivation

A total of six projects have now advanced to the next stage of reactivation. These include, among others:

• Aurich > Abelitz (> Emden)
• Bad Bentheim > Gildehaus
• Bremerhaven > Bederkesa
• Bremerhaven > Langen
• Nordenham-Blexen > Nordenham
• Rheine > Spelle

The revival of these routes is part of a larger initiative to transform transport in Lower Saxony. Between 2013 and 2015, the Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft mbH (LNVG) identified routes worth reactivating, which led to the already successfully reactivated routes in Einbeck and Bad Bentheim. This progress clearly shows that the state wants to quickly improve its region's connection to local rail passenger transport (SPNV) in order to promote the mobility of its citizens, as mw.niedersachsen.de highlights.

Next steps and challenges

The concrete plans for the Lüneburg-Soltau route show that Lower Saxony is on the right track to get the remaining roads ready for application within the next two years. Necessary investments of over 90% are also provided for by the new funding law according to the Municipal Transport Financing Act (GVFG). Nevertheless, the challenge remains to provide the necessary infrastructure in time, in particular to be able to realize the planned connection from Buchholz to Hamburg-Harburg.

Companies, municipalities and railways are called upon to pull together to advance the implementation of this transport workshop. Improvements at the Stelle junction in the direction of Hamburg must also be considered, as it is already operating at the limit of its capacity. A flyover structure in Meckelfeld is planned for 2036 to ensure further traffic flow.

In summary, it can be said that Lower Saxony is on a promising path with its current rail reactivation initiatives, which take both ecological and social criteria into account. It remains to be seen how the further steps will bear fruit and whether the plans can be implemented within the desired time frame. The partnerships with the federal government and railways are of great importance, which is also emphasized by lnvg.de.