Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein task AKN with Geesthacht rail planning

Announced on 29 September 2026: after a long dispute over funding, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein have commissioned AKN to carry out preliminary planning for reactivating the Bergedorf-Süd–Geesthacht line. The cost, about EUR 1.5 million according to Geesthacht's Greens, is split between Schleswig-Holstein (59.5%) and Hamburg (40.5%). Geesthacht, with just under 35,000 residents the largest town in the state without a rail link, last had scheduled passenger trains in 1953; in April 2026 a state association (spokesman Karl-Peter Naumann) had criticised Hamburg for not countersigning the agreement that Schleswig-Holstein signed in February 2025, and expected trains only in the mid-2030s. The date is a placeholder: the article gives only this approximate timeframe. (LOK Report, 30 Sep 2026)