German rail operator Deutsche Bahn on Tuesday announced that it has pushed back the completion of a major rail construction project to reroute traffic around the south-western city of Stuttgart and construct a new train station to December 2026.
The new main train station in Stuttgart was scheduled to open in December 2025. However, Deutsche Bahn infrastructure director Berthold Huber on Tuesday said that the hub must be fully operational from the start, and passengers should be able to rely on punctual schedules.
"To achieve this, we will intensively test all components of the rail infrastructure, the future station, the Stuttgart digital hub and the rail vehicles, and carefully prepare the operating personnel for this," said Huber after a meeting with project partners in Stuttgart.
The rail infrastructure project, dubbed Stuttgart 21, has long been highly controversial because of its massive price tag and the long-term disruption caused by the construction work.
The project, which was first announced in 1995, has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. Construction began in 2010 despite protests against the project.
Earlier this year, state-owned Deutsche Bahn announced that the current Stuttgart main station will remain in operation until at least 2026, instead of being fully replaced in December 2025 as planned.
The railway company has stated that delaying the opening until the end of 2026 will result in a cost of around €100 million ($107 million). However, Huber said that despite the delay, the cost estimate of the project does not need to be increased as there is enough provision for potential risks.