1000 kilometers of cable laid incorrectly - Stuttgart 21 threatens the next mega-breakdown

The major German railroad project Stuttgart 21 could be completed later than recently assumed. As was announced at the beginning of the week, those involved now expect the project to not be fully operational until the end of 2031.

A report by SWR is particularly explosive: according to the report, more than 1000 kilometers of cables and cable shafts are said to have been laid incorrectly. A large proportion of these would have to be replaced. Deutsche Bahn did not want to comment on the information and referred to a meeting of the steering committee at the end of June.

Deutsche Bahn remains silent ahead of important decision

Deutsche Bahn announced that it would provide information about a new commissioning concept on June 26. The company is currently not commenting on speculation about further delays.

Nevertheless, according to several media reports, travelers should benefit from the first improvements as early as the end of 2027. For example, some of the long distances to the platforms required today could be shortened.

Last November, Deutsche Bahn had already canceled a partial opening planned for the end of 2026. Railroad boss Evelyn Palla justified this at the time with difficulties in the digitalization of the railroad junction.

Stuttgart is to be the first major rail hub in Germany to be operated completely digitally. Long-distance trains, regional trains and suburban trains are to run exclusively with the European Train Control System (ETCS). Traditional light signals are no longer planned. However, the technical implementation is proving to be much more complicated than expected.

From billion-euro project to permanent construction site symbol

Stuttgart 21 has been under construction since 2010. When the federal government, Deutsche Bahn and project partners agreed on the financing in 2009, they still expected the project to open in 2019.

At that time, the costs were estimated at around 4.5 billion euros. In early plans, there was even talk of only around 3 billion euros. Deutsche Bahn is now calculating costs of around 11.3 billion euros.

Stuttgart 21 not only includes the new underground main station. The project also includes new stations, tunnels, bridges and track systems as well as the high-speed line between Wendlingen and Ulm, which will open in 2022.