DB revises plans as Augsburg-Munich rail cuts appear averted

Planned cuts to regional train services between Augsburg and Munich appear to have been averted after rail infrastructure operator DB InfraGO revised its capacity requirements, BR reported. Politicians and commuters welcomed the change as a result of protests, while train operator Arverio Bayern said it was still assessing the new plans.

From 2028, the original plan would have removed 12 regional trains a day from the route. During peak hours, services would have fallen in some periods to two trains an hour from three or four. Local politicians, transport companies and commuters opposed the cuts, and a petition gathered more than 5,000 signatures.

Bavarian Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter welcomed the revised plans, saying DB InfraGO had “come to its senses”. He said cuts of that scale to local transport would have been difficult to justify, particularly on busy routes around Munich. Bernreiter added that the original proposals had caused anger and uncertainty among passengers and mayors.

Klaus Holetschek, chair of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bavarian state parliament, called the development “very good news” for commuters. Green Party legislator Stephanie Schuhknecht said public opposition, including the petition, had helped prompt the change. She said commuters needed to be able to rely on today’s level of service continuing.

Arverio Bayern is not yet giving the plans its final approval. Spokesman Winfried Karg said an initial review suggested things were moving in the right direction, but the new requirements were complicated and needed closer analysis.

Arverio Bayern and the Bavarian Railway Company had formally objected to the cuts. Karg said two regional trains an hour would not be enough during rush hour. Adding more carriages would be possible only to a limited extent because of platform length restrictions. He said the first review suggested the company’s proposals had been taken into account.

It remains unclear which trains will run from 2028. The new documents set out possible train paths, or time slots on the tracks, but the final timetable has not been decided.

The capacity problem has not been resolved: Munich’s rail hub remains overloaded. The revised requirements are intended primarily to prevent the planned reduction in regional services. Until planned upgrades take effect, regional, long-distance and freight trains will continue to compete for limited track space.