The existing Stuttgart main station will remain in operation at least until 2026. It should be decided by June whether the new underground station can be used from December 2025, as previously planned. Deutsche Bahn (DB) announced this after a meeting with the partners of the Stuttgart 21 project in the state capital.
Due to major challenges in digitizing the Stuttgart rail hub, the timetable for 2026 will still be created based on the old infrastructure with the existing terminal station, it said. The terminus station should actually no longer be used from the end of 2025.
The company said it is working hard to determine in detail the sequence in which the many different newly built infrastructure parts will go into operation, taking into account the available vehicle fleets. The newly built infrastructure should go into operation in December 2026 at the latest.
Commissioning originally planned for 2019
Deutsche Bahn's infrastructure director, Berthold Huber, emphasized that the aim is still to put the new underground station into operation in December 2025. “However, we have to realize that the deadline situation is very tight, especially for the Digital Hub Stuttgart pilot project,” said Huber, according to a statement.
The railway estimates the costs for Stuttgart 21 at around eleven billion euros. There have been several significant cost increases in recent years. The commissioning of the project had also been repeatedly delayed. When the financing agreement was signed in 2009, plans called for an inauguration in 2019, according to Deutsche Bahn.
The Stuttgart 21 project not only stands for the construction of the new main train station in the state capital, but also for the complete reorganization of the Stuttgart rail hub. New train stations are being built - such as a new long-distance train station at the airport - dozens of kilometers of railway tracks and tunnels, culverts and bridges. In addition to Stuttgart 21, the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project also includes the new construction of the Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed line, which opened in 2022. The heart of Stuttgart 21 is the new underground main station, which, in contrast to the previous terminus station, will be a through station.
