Germany's long-troubled Stuttgart 21 rail project is set to become even more expensive and to take even longer than previously announced. Deutsche Bahn officially postponed the opening of the new underground station to 2031 on Friday, and the entire project, including additional stations and tunnels across the greater Stuttgart area, is not expected to be completed until December 2033. Costs are rising by a further three billion euros, DB CEO Evelyn Palla announced.
The underground station in Stuttgart had originally been due to open at the end of this year. Palla had already acknowledged months ago that this target was no longer achievable. She now presented an internal project report to the key political stakeholders, Baden-Württemberg's Minister-President Cem Özdemir (Greens) and Stuttgart's Lord Mayor Frank Nopper (CDU).
Palla described herself as "shaken" by the findings regarding the background to the delays. The investigation had uncovered "significant project failures," she said. "The report shows serious deficiencies in planning, in management, and also in risk management." She pledged a structural overhaul of the teams responsible for delivery. "The clear goal is to manage the complex processes in a reliable and future-proof way. What is essential for that is that honesty and realism take hold."
"I think we are all facing the reality that it is virtually impossible to explain that we are now looking at the ninth delay, adding a further five years," said Özdemir. He thanked Palla for her candour: "It can only work with maximum transparency."
Work on Stuttgart 21 has been ongoing for around 16 years. The "21" in the project name refers to the 21st century, it was meant to be a flagship project. The opening date has already been pushed back on multiple occasions. Deutsche Bahn initially estimated the total cost at three billion euros. That figure has since nearly quintupled to 14.5 billion euros.
Özdemir stressed the importance of maintaining a commitment to completing the project in full. "We need a high-performance rail hub with maximum capacity, high punctuality, and full digitalisation." He also expressed the hope that "the burdens placed on passengers and the public are reduced to a minimum."
Stuttgart's Lord Mayor Nopper praised Palla for credibly pledging, "on behalf of Deutsche Bahn, to do better" and for committing to "unsparing openness." "That unsparing openness was not there before," he added. The new timetable now appeared "realistic and comprehensible." "Deutsche Bahn, as the client, has credibly assured us that it will not promise more than it can deliver."
In detail, the new long-distance rail station at Stuttgart Airport is scheduled to open first, in December 2030, though only regional trains will stop there until the main station itself opens. Even when the main station opens in December 2031, the existing terminus station will not be closed immediately, trains running to and from Bad Cannstatt will not be able to use the new station until mid-2032.
July 2032 will then see the opening of the digitalised and extended S-Bahn core route, with the Pfaffensteig Tunnel following in December 2033, marking the full completion of the project.
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