Stuttgart 21: Project Partners Celebrate the Start of Tunnelling for the Airport Traffic Hub
Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) is taking the next important step in the course of Stuttgart 21 at Stuttgart Airport. On 20 July 2020, the project partners celebrated the start of the main construction work on the rail link between the airport/the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre and the new construction site in Ulm with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony.
With the new railway line and the airport railway station on the Filder plain, the first part of a transport hub for Baden-Württemberg will be created by the end of 2025, which will benefit around 250 000 people in its immediate catchment area alone. Travellers will then be able to switch to air travel, local public transport or the car over short distances. Thanks to the new infrastructure, the airport can be reached from the future Stuttgart main railway station in eight minutes instead of 27 minutes today.
Commissioning of the Airport Connection Planned for 2025
Winfried Hermann, Minister of Transport of the State of Baden-Württemberg: „It is high time that construction work can finally start at the airport. Complex and intricate construction work is now on the agenda. We have experienced many delays, most recently due to lawsuits. It is therefore all the more important that progress is made now so that the airport connection with the underground railway station can be put into operation at the end of 2025. It is also important, however, that a decision on the management of the Gäubahn over the airport is taken quickly. Only then can the Stuttgart 21 project be completed at the airport“.
The approximately 2200 m long airport tunnel provides access to the platform at the airport, which is located about 30 m below the Trade Fair Centre Piazza. Part two of the traffic hub on the Filder plain, the connection to the Gäubahn railway, is currently undergoing the approval procedure.