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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Kate Connolly in Berlin

Germany to close key rail corridor for months to tackle ailing train network

Fans on a crowded train platform in Gelsenkirchen during Euro 2024
Fans on a crowded train platform in Gelsenkirchen during Euro 2024. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP

One of Germany’s main rail corridors is to be effectively closed for months as part of a major overhaul of the ailing train network of Europe’s largest economy that is expected to last until the end of the decade.

Years of underinvestment and lack of political direction are being blamed for the state of the German railways, which have in recent years been beset by a massive increase in breakdowns, delays, cancellations and other major technical mishaps and led to unflattering comparisons with infrastructure in the developing world.

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