Neubrandenburg and Friedland: Railway line is to be revived after years!

The approximately 22.6 kilometer long Friedland Railway between Neubrandenburg and Friedland is to be reactivated after decades. In recent years the connection has only been used for freight traffic, but this has been possible again since last year under certain conditions. However, passenger train services were discontinued in 1994, after over 100 years of operation.

Again Northern Courier reported, the city of Neubrandenburg and the Mecklenburg Lake District district are in the process of securing guarantees of 1.525 million euros each in order to receive funding of around 3 million euros for the renovation of the route. The final decision by the Neubrandenburg city council is scheduled for February 20th.

Renovation and financing

The total costs for repairing the railway line amount to around 8.68 million euros, of which 3.05 million euros will come from the federal government and 3.4 million euros from the state. Other sources of financing include 1.45 million euros in additional funding, 718,000 euros from the city of Friedland and 50,000 euros from Friedländer Bahn GmbH (FLB).

The construction and planning costs are necessary because the trains currently take almost 70 minutes to cover the almost 30 kilometer route, which is due to the poor condition of the tracks. After the renovation, the annual transport volumes are expected to increase from the current 70,000 tons to 100,000 to 120,000 tons, which corresponds to around 2,800 truck transports. Future transports include fertilizer, grain, lime, scrap, metals, wood and other raw materials.

The NDR also reported on the planned resumption of passenger trains between Neubrandenburg and Friedland. To do this, the Mecklenburg Lake District and the city of Neubrandenburg must decide on guarantees. District Administrator Heiko Kärger explained that the funding will flow as soon as these guarantees have been established. The resolution is scheduled for next year.

The state government sees great potential for shifting passenger and freight transport to rail through this infrastructure project. The bridge between Ihlenfeld and Neverin is also to be renewed as part of the renovation. The costs for the bridge renovation are estimated at around 1.5 million euros, although funding from the state and the district is currently being examined.