German national railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) is planning to enhance its network this year, with the aim of making existing infrastructure more efficient.
As part of this initiative, DB, along with the federal and regional governments, plan to invest $15.59bn (€13.6bn) to further improve the railway infrastructure.
The railway company intends to upgrade and review nearly 1,800km of its rail network, 140 bridges and 800 stations.
DB Infrastructure board member Ronald Pofalla said: “We are building more than ever before and we can only achieve this with a strong team, with motivated and committed employees.
“To this end, we are hiring 4,800 additional engineers and specialists for expansion and maintenance this year alone. Every euro spent on rail is a euro spent on climate protection”
DB stated that the investment will be primarily directed towards increasing capacity, as well as digitalisation of the rail network.
It added that the investments in the rail infrastructure will be made by collaborating with the federal government, which has set rail expansion as its top priority to support its green transport network plan.
DB said that the present investment figure is $1.03bn (€900m) higher than the investment made last year.
In 2020, the government led by Angela Merkel set a target to increase rail passenger numbers by 2030, and the new government, which is now led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, has also committed to further this initiative.
The state is said to have committed a $71bn (€62bn) investment in the rail network over the next decade.
Earlier this month, Siemens agreed to supply 43 new ICE 3neo type trains to DB under a $1.7bn (€1.5bn) contract.
