Many railway areas are unused, and buildings are often dilapidated. That’s why sales have been going on for years. However, the railway itself could need one or the other area again in the future.
Station buildings, shunting areas, storage areas: Deutsche Bahn has been selling properties in partly central locations for years.
According to the government, since 2004 it has parted with properties with a total area of around 182 million square meters, which is roughly the size of the city of Nuremberg. This includes 500 reception buildings in the past seven years alone. The revenue from property sales was just under 2.3 billion euros, as the Federal Ministry of Transport responded to a request from the Greens.
The re-use of the railway areas is a double-edged sword, according to the parliamentary group. Make space for apartments, commercial or recreational areas, the areas can be upgraded or entire districts can be created. But it could also be that the areas were missing from the planned expansion of the railway.
The ministry does not rule out a change of course. “The group strategy” Strong Rail “of DB AG may lead to a changed view of sales with a view to the planned growth of rail traffic,” it says in the answer. “The priority for DB AG is the expansion of the infrastructure and operations in order to implement the growth targets in rail transport.”
With its subsidiaries, the group still holds properties in Germany whose total area of 1.16 billion square meters exceeds that of the Lüneburg Heath Nature Park. According to the previous plan, sales should continue. After the 16,300 transactions of the past 16 years, a further 1,800 are planned by 2025. Cities with rapidly rising rents, among others, have turned their eyes to railway areas in order to build apartments.
From the perspective of the Greens, however, some of the wastelands in large cities could also play a role in setting up “climate-neutral city logistics” – for example, if parcels are loaded onto cargo bikes to take them to the residential areas. The railway has so far only examined this in Berlin and, according to the information, found two suitable properties, at the Tempelhof marshalling yard and the former Frankfurter Allee marshalling yard.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
