New €9bn railway line to link Germany's Hamburg and Hanover by 2050

A new railway line is set to be built between Hanover and Hamburg, one of Germany's most important transport routes, after years of wrangling. 

The transport committee in the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, endorsed the Deutsche Bahn plan on Wednesday, with a target date of 2050 for the €9 billion ($10 billion) project to be completed.

The heavily congested existing line between the northern cities will also be modernized under the agreement, which is due to be backed by the full Bundestag on Thursday.

Isabel Cademartori, transport policy spokeswoman for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), said the deal ends "years of deadlock." 

"The new line creates urgently needed capacity for passenger and freight traffic, and at the same time we are investing an additional €250 million in the existing line by 2034 at the latest."

Lawmaker Christoph Ploss from the conservative Christian Democrats added: "The new line is a central building block for creating additional capacity and permanently resolving the existing bottlenecks between Hamburg and Hanover."

The agreement was reached despite opposition from lawmakers representing constituencies affected by the new construction, including Vice Chancellor Lars Klingebil. 

Renovation of the existing line between Hanover and Hamburg, which is vital for long-distance travel between northern and southern Germany as well as local commuters and freight traffic, is already planned for 2029. 

According to Deutsche Bahn, traffic on the route stands at up to 147% of intended capacity. 

The planned new two-track line is designed for speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour, cutting journey times between the two cities by 18 minutes. 

Following the Bundestag's endorsement of the project, the next planning phases will follow, covering detailed design and approval planning. It could be many years before a building permit is granted and construction begins.

The preliminary planning report sets out a timetable for approval documents to be submitted in 2034, construction to begin in 2036, and completion in 2050.

Financing still needs to be secured. According to the preliminary planning report, Deutsche Bahn estimates costs at a minimum of €9 billion.