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Mobility and Transport

Five Corridors cross the German network, as currently defined:

  • Rhine - Alpine corridor, along its section between the Dutch border, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and the Swiss border.
  • Scandinavian - Mediterranean corridor, crossing Germany from North to South, from the Danish border and Bremerhaven, Nuremberg, Munich to the Austrian border.
  • North Sea - Baltic corridor, from West to East, from the Dutch and Belgian borders, Düsseldorf, Hannover, Berlin to the Polish border at Frankfurt an der Oder.
  • Rhine - Danube corridor, also crossing Germany from West to East, but along the southern half of the country; from the French border at Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Wurzburg, Nuremberg, Passau to the Czech and Austrian borders.
  • Orient / East - Med corridor, from Hamburg, Rostock and Bremerhaven to the Czech border at Dresden, via Magdeburg and Berlin.

Infrastructure Managers

DB Netze is the Infrastructure Manager in the German network. This network has parts which belong to the Core Network Corridors including over 8,300 km.

Information regarding the German network and its features can be found at:

In addition, the DB has an iterative map showing current ERTMS deployment in Germany.

National implementation plan

The German National Implementation Plan (NIP) was delivered in 2017. It is partially compliant with the ERTMS European Deployment Plan. It includes some dates that are beyond EDP target dates and some sections that are not included in the NIP.

According to the German NIP:

  • The network will have mixed ERTMS levels; some conventional lines will be equipped with ERTMS Level 1, such as the Rostock – Berlin line, and the high-speed lines will have ERTMS Level 2, such as the Berlin - Leipzig/Halle line.
  • Class-B decommissioning is not specified in the NIP. However, on updated documents, it is indicated that no double equipment on infrastructure is expected.

National Implementation Plans (NIP) country by country

National Safety Authority

The Federal Railway Authority (EBA) is the German supervisory, licensing and safety authority for railways and railway undertakings. Its competences include the authorisation of rolling stock and railway infrastructure, along with the granting of federal funds for the rail sector.