Bavaria plans diesel-free local rail in Swabia and western Upper Bavaria

Announced on 15 January 2026: The Free State of Bavaria has commissioned DB InfraGO to plan the infrastructure expansion for diesel-free regional rail in Swabia and western Upper Bavaria and is paying about EUR 60 million of planning costs; diesel operation is again to end by 2040, and the state is seeking federal funding under the GVFG for all the works. For this, about 100 km of line are to be electrified: the planned electrification of Neu-Ulm–Kempten is extended by 41 km to Oberstdorf, and the sections Weilheim–Peißenberg, Augsburg Hbf–Bobingen, Augsburg-Hochzoll–Obergriesbach and Buchloe–Biessenhofen get overhead lines; charging stations at Füssen and Krumbach and a converter plant at Immenstadt are added. Seven diesel lines will run fully electrically, including Ulm–Aalen via the Brenz line, while the remaining lines switch to battery trains, mostly from the mid-2030s and in the last stage probably from December 2040. The date is a placeholder: the article gives only the month of December 2040 for the second conversion stage and no completion date for the infrastructure. (LOK Report, 15 Jan 2026)