A ceremony was staged by German Rail (DB) in Kyllburg in the Eifel region of western Germany on October 28 to mark the official start of work to electrify at 15kV 16.7Hz the164km Hürth-Kalscheuren - Euskirchen - Trier-Ehrang Eifel line, parts of which were severely damaged by floods in 2021.
Preparatory work on the northern section between Hürth-Kalscheuren, south of Cologne, and Euskirchen is already underway.
Funding of the €500m project is split between the German federal government and the state governments of Rhineland-Pfalz and North Rhine-Westfalia.
Work will involve modification of 56 bridges and 10 tunnels to allow construction of the overhead catenary. Around 300 track-km of overhead line will be installed along with 10 sub-stations.
DB InfraGO says the work is part of its wider S3 infrastructure renewal programme and will be completed in stages between 2026 and 2028 with electric operation starting in late 2028.
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