Germany’s new “Coal Region Investment Act” earmarks billions of euros to reshape the former brown‑coal mining belt, yet progress on the promised rail projects remains scarce.
Green Party lawmaker Paula Piechotta told the RND that, out of 29 rail projects funded by the act, only the Bitterfeld station has been fully completed. All other projects are still in an early planning phase, she said. Among these are two large undertakings: the Aachen‑Cologne line and the Berlin‑Cottbus‑Görlitz corridor, which are budgeted at €948 million and €1.64 billion, respectively. Despite the long lead times, no concrete completion dates have been recorded.
The dual‑track upgrade between Lübbenau and Cottbus does have a tentative schedule: the line is expected to be finished by “2027” with the official timetable pointing to December 2027.
Piechotta called for the rail projects to be prioritised. “Every day a delay makes each project more expensive, so the billions are spent not on the promised rail infrastructure but mainly on construction‑price increases” she warned.