The electrification of the railway lines in north-eastern Bavaria, which is repeatedly desired, can be implemented most sensibly with traction current lines and substations. This is confirmed by a recent expert report by the Technical University of Dresden (TU Dresden). The report was prepared by Prof. Arnd Stephan and his team at the Chair for Electric Railways. The technical possibilities for the railway power supply of north-east Bavaria should be examined by a neutral party - this was the express wish of many people in the region around Amberg. Deutsche Bahn (DB) has taken this wish into account. On 15 June 2021, Arnd Stephan presented the results in Hersbruck.

The 100-page report systematically identifies the possible variants of traction current supply for the entire network and compares them in a differential comparison - from classic overhead lines with substations to largely decentralised supply variants with converter stations to a rigidly earthed island network with partial underground cabling. The variants also include the proposals from the planning draft, which was prepared on the initiative of local authorities and the IG "Bahnstrom - So Nicht".

Comparison of several variants - with many advantages, but also disadvantages

The expert report evaluates the different variants on the basis of a large number of criteria that need to be taken into account in all aspects of traction power supply. In addition to the costs over the entire life cycle, these include, for example, security of supply, availability, interoperability in the complex European rail system and the impact on people and nature. In the overall view of all these factors, the expert recommends a connection to the central German traction power grid through traction power lines as the most sensible solution.

For variants with decentralised supply from the public grid, on the other hand, the expert determined significantly higher total costs that would have to be borne by the taxpayer in the long term. The expert sees a clear need for further investigation with regard to construction methods, system compatibility and security of supply for solutions with partial cabling, which are also considerably more expensive than decentralised variants. From the expert's point of view, no recommendation can be made for these solutions.

Representatives of the region accompanied the appraisal

The expert was selected jointly by politicians and DB in November 2020 and commissioned in December with federal funds. The team from TU Dresden led by Prof. Dr. Stephan has extensive references in the field of electric railways. The expert therefore enjoys the trust of all parties involved. In the interest of transparency, the expert opinion was accompanied by representatives of the region: The so-called monitoring committee consisted of the members of the Bundestag Karl Holmeier and Stefan Schmidt, the mayors Robert Ilg (Hersbruck) and Dieter Dehling (Illschwang/IG Bahnstrom - So Nicht) as well as Gerhard Pirner (technical expert IG Bahnstrom - So Nicht). At a total of six meetings from February to June, together with the team from the Technical University of Dresden and the DB, the process of preparation was supported and the interests of the region were brought in. (Source: Deutsche Bahn AG press release dated 15 June 2021)

More about the railway expansion in north-east Bavaria at: www.bahnausbau-nordostbayern.de