Parliament urges expansion of NRLA feeder in southern Germany Parliament urges expansion of NRLA feeder in southern Germany

Parliament is calling for an extension of the feeder line of the New Alpine Rail Link (NRLA) to the left of the Rhine in southern Germany. The Wörth-Strasbourg route will be electrified and upgraded to NEAT standard.

The Council of States passed a motion without opposition on Tuesday. The Federal Council, together with Germany and France, must ensure that the bottleneck on the NRLA feeder is resolved by 2030. It concerns the 71 kilometer long route from Wörth near Karlsruhe to Strasbourg (F).

Negotiations with France and Belgium on the improvement of the Antwerp-Metz-Strasbourg (-Basel) railway line, which started in 2021, will continue.

The motion was tabled by the Transport Committee of the National Council. The target of 650,000 transalpine truck journeys can only be achieved by extending this section of the route. The Bundesrat declared its willingness to start negotiations.

However, it is important to realize that France and Germany consider the added value of this route rather low, said Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga, speaking of the possibility of funding from Switzerland. The same action had already been taken with Italy.

With a second motion from the Transport Committee of the National Council, Parliament is demanding adjustments to the promotion of combined freight transport across the Alps to exploit the existing potential for modal shift. The Council of States also adopted this motion without opposition. The Bundesrat also agreed to this.

(jam/sda)