DB: Construction of the new Wendlingen-Ulm line is to be over. The route between Frankfurt and Munich was shortened by 15 minutes

photo: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICE_S#/media/File:Mannheimer_Hauptbahnhof-_auf_Bahnsteig_zu_Gleis_10-_Richtung_Heidelberg_(ICE_S)_24.2.2009.JPG)/DB: Construction of the new Wendlingen-Ulm line is to be over. The route between Frankfurt and Munich was shortened by 15 minutes

DB Infrastructure Director Ronald Pofalla and Minister of State for Transport Winfried Hermann announce the completion of the Wendlingen-Ulm line, designed for high speeds of up to 250 km/h. On Monday, they made a trial journey on the test train ICE-S.

The train travelled from Wendlingen to Merklingen, passing through several long tunnels as well as the 85-meter-high Philstal Bridge. The line is scheduled to enter service on December 11, 2022. It will benefit travellers in Baden-Württemberg: long-distance passengers on the Frankfurt-Munich route will be able to reduce their travel time by about 15 minutes, and local passengers will be able to have hourly connections between Ulm-Merklingen-Wendlingen, as well as in the opposite direction. Also, Ulm and Stuttgart will become closer to each other, and with the Merklingen station, the whole region will become accessible by rail.

Ronald Pofalla, Member of DB's Management Board responsible for Infrastructure: "With the new line, we are building a bridge to the strong rail in Baden-Württemberg. Millions of travellers will benefit from being able to get from Stuttgart to Ulm and on to Munich much faster in the future and vice versa. Rail will then also be faster than cars on this connection. That's good for the climate, good for our state and good for travellers. All the efforts have paid off."

Winfried Hermann, Minister of Transport for Baden-Württemberg: "In the future, travellers will not only be able to travel much faster between Stuttgart and Ulm on the new line. The new regional railway stop "Merklingen - Swabian Jura" will also connect an entire region on the Jura plateau to supra-regional rail traffic. It will create an attractive local transport offer and an incentive to switch to climate-friendly rail transport."