THE opening of the new underground Stuttgart Main Station, provisionally set for the December 2025 timetable change, will not lead to introduction of the full planned new timetable and may be further delayed, German Rail (DB) has confirmed.
DB formally informed the project’s sponsors, the Baden-Württemberg state government, the Stuttgart city government, the Verband Region Stuttgart transport authority, Stuttgart Airport and the German federal government, also known as Project Partners Stuttgart 21, that it was unclear whether it can meet the December 2025 date for partial opening of the new station. DB now says it will make this decision in June.
Project Partners Stuttgart 21 responded to DB’s announcement by calling on DB to offer clarity on the opening date much sooner and to submit a schedule before June for the various types of commissioning still required. The partners want to see when specific parts of the new infrastructure will be available, and when parts of the existing infrastructure will go out of operation.
The removal of redundant rail infrastructure is of crucial importance to the Stuttgart city government, which is planning a wholesale redevelopment of the land released, but is unable to proceed due to continued delays with the entire Stuttgart 21 project.
The project partners are seeking use of the new replacement routes as soon as possible due to the continual poor performance of existing rail infrastructure in the region. The partners have called on DB to ensure that there is always a stable, functioning and realistic timetable for passengers, and in particular are seeking reassurance that there will be sufficient time available for testing both new infrastructure and trains.
Infrastructure interventions that are separate from, but still reliant upon opening of the new station, include the new Mittnachtstrasse S-Bahn station, immediately north of the main station, and the partial closure of the Gäubahn, the Stuttgart - Singen line, to offer an alternative alignment via the new 11km Pfaffenstieg Tunnel to Stuttgart Airport. Both of these projects are planned for June 2026, but only if the main station opens in December 2025.
Clarity on ETCS
A key request from the Project Partners is for DB to clarify what level of ETCS coverage it plans to deliver and when. The Digital Node Stuttgart project aims to introduce ETCS as the sole signalling system across the entire central Stuttgart area and is funded by the federal government via a capital increase to DB. DB informed the partners that it is in discussion with the federal government over the funding, although the ministry says that the entire project is fully funded and that DB needs to make the financial contributions envisaged.
The lack of ETCS-equipped rolling stock could also pose problems. DB InfraGo is equipping the new infrastructure at the station and on multiple approach routes, including the new high speed line east to Ulm via Stuttgart Airport, with ETCS Level 2. The Project Partners agreed in 2020 to fit all S-Bahn and regional trains with ETCS onboard equipment, with work underway to equip existing fleets of Stadler Flirt EMUs used by Go-Ahead Baden Württemberg and Talent 2 EMUs used by Sweg, along with class 430 EMUs used by DB Regio for Stuttgart S-Bahn services.
However, delays in the delivery of new trains had already resulted in the drawing up of contingency plans for reduced or truncated services before the recent announcements of possible delay to the station.
Alstom has a contract to supply 130 Coradia Stream part double-deck EMUs to Baden-Württemberg-owned leasing company, State Institute for Rail Vehicles Baden-Württemberg (SFBW). 80 of these trains were due to enter service by December 2025. However, it was confirmed last year that only 14 trains will be available by the end of 2025.
Separately, SFBW has ordered 28 Siemens Mireo EMUs, which are expected to be delivered between November 2025 and April 2026. These sets will operate temporarily on some of the routes that the Alstom trains should have worked.
It is still unclear when the old ground level Stuttgart Main station will close permanently, although the lack of trains to operate services on the new underground routes suggests that it will be much later than 2026.
Gäubahn expansion
The planned Gäubahn expansion is also a subject of concern for the Project Partners. Despite previous joint statements committing to construction and an opening date of 2032, DB appears reluctant to oblige.
The partners have called for clarity and commitment from DB to construct this new line. Planning work is continuing for the new tunnel, and the aim is to obtain full planning approval by mid-2026.
