DB InfraGO commissions Hitachi to digitalise Riesbahn interlocking

DB InfraGO has commissioned Hitachi Rail to plan and build new digital interlocking technology on the Riesbahn (report of 15 March 2026): in the first step, the Wörnitzstein–Möttingen section between Donauwörth and Nördlingen is to receive the technology, including ETCS, by the end of the 2020s, after which old interlockings between Gersthofen and Mertingen on the Donauwörth–Augsburg line are to be replaced; construction is planned to start in 2027. It is the first call-off under this volume contract for digital control and safety technology in Bavaria. The Riesbahn is thereby also to serve as a diversion route during the Augsburg–Ulm corridor renovation in 2034; on 1 April 2026, DB additionally reported a bundled package of measures for the Ries and Rems lines (control and safety technology, stations, level crossings) and the reopening of the Nürnberger Strasse level crossing in Nördlingen. The date is a placeholder: for the first step the article gives only the end of the 2020s, and 31 December 2029 is used. (LOK Report, 15 Mar and 1 Apr 2026)