Deutsche Bahn presents preferred route for Alpha-E Hannover–Hamburg

Alpha-E is the upgrade/new-build project expanding capacity on the Hamburg/Bremen–Hannover rail axis, comprising four sections. In June 2025 Deutsche Bahn presented a new-build line via Celle, Bergen and Soltau to Meckelfeld as the preferred route for Hannover–Hamburg; the Rotenburg–Verden section has been in design and approval planning since May 2022, and preliminary planning for Uelzen–Langwedel was completed in October 2024. The source gives no binding completion date, so the originally listed target year 2030 could not be confirmed and should be treated with caution. The originally supplied Deutsche Bahn construction-projects URL was no longer reachable (404). Update (21 Apr 2026): According to the federal government's report to the Bundestag (paper 21/3150), a two-track new line of 109 km is planned between Hannover-Vinnhorst and Hamburg-Meckelfeld, with expected costs of EUR 8.8 billion; if the region's core demands were met, up to EUR 4.99 billion would be added and the benefit-cost ratio could fall below 1. The Federal Railway Authority (EBA) considers DB InfraGO's preferred option economic and lawful, and the federal government recommends it as the basis for planning. At the Transport Committee hearing on 20 April 2026, DB, Pro Bahn, the seaport operators' association and the city of Lüneburg backed the new line, while the state of Lower Saxony and several rural districts oppose it; critics point to a total value forecast of EUR 14.1 billion, and one district chief cites commissioning only in 2050 or 2065 (LOK Report, 14 Apr and 21 Apr 2026; second source: German Bundestag, printed paper 21/3150). Update (21 Sep 2026): The Transport Committee intends to submit to the Bundestag a recommendation for a decision on the preliminary-planning report, on which the plenary was due to vote on 24 September 2026; according to PRO BAHN the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition tabled a resolution confirming the preferred route and placing the project in the phasing of the Deutschlandtakt. Under it, the continuous third track between Lüneburg and Uelzen (more than EUR 4 billion by current forecast) would be dropped, connecting curves to the Amerikalinie near Soltau would be prepared in planning, and a package of about EUR 250 million would go to the existing line (including five crossover points, track adjustments at Winsen, Stelle and Maschen and ten noise barriers); the federal government would build the shells of the stops at Soltau and Bergen, while platforms and train orders would be up to the state of Lower Saxony. On 21 September 2026 the Greens lament a renewed postponement of the decision in the Bundestag; no decision is documented. (LOK Report, 15 Sep, 17 Sep and 21 Sep 2026) Update (17 Sep 2026): Lower Saxony's transport minister Grant Hendrik Tonne rejects the draft resolution of the federal coalition transport politicians because it does not take up quick capacity gains on the existing line, above all between Uelzen and Hamburg. The state puts the project to be planned further at well over EUR 10 billion, with opening 2050 at the earliest, and demands that the 2029 general renovation be combined with Alpha-E measures. (LOK Report, 17 Sep 2026) Update (7 Oct 2026): The Bundestag transport committee approved the new line between the Hannover and Hamburg rail hubs, clearing the way; the final vote in the Bundestag was scheduled for the following day. The committee follows the federal government's finding that a new line is the only economically defensible answer to the capacity problems of the northern German network; new regional stations are foreseen, along with additional measures on operating quality and protection for residents along both the existing and the new line. A completion date is still not documented (LOK Report, 7 Oct 2026).