On 14 February, the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) began conducting measurement campaigns on the German rail network. This is the first time that the federal government has conducted its own measurement runs. The first round of measurements, conducted by independent experts, took place heading from Leipzig in the direction of Spreewald. In total, 5000 km of representative track sections across the German railway network are to be thus surveyed.

As stated by the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Alexander Dobrindt, “We want to continue to modernise the railways. This applies to both digital as well as railway infrastructure. Over the coming years we will invest more money in the railways. In return, we will more stringently verify that the railways comply with the agreed quality criteria and that they put the billions allocated each year by the federal government to good use, in accordance with the set objectives.”

The intention behind the inspection campaigns commissioned by the federal government is to conduct a general review of the DB Netz AG track geometry database, as well as compiling an independent database.

(Source: Press release, German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure)