German railways CEO scraps December 2026 opening for Germany’s largest rail project

The long-delayed Stuttgart 21 rail project in Southwestern Germany is once again facing a major setback.

The long-running saga surrounding Stuttgart 21 has entered another chapter. Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) new CEO, Evelyn Palla, has told the company’s supervisory board and project partners that the mega-project’s planned December 2026 opening date can no longer be met, according to board sources cited by various German media outlets.

This marks yet another setback for one of Germany’s most controversial and ambitious infrastructure projects. Stuttgart 21 was first approved in 1995 and officially launched in 2010. It aims to replace Stuttgart’s historic above-ground terminus with a new eight-track underground through-station, while reconfiguring the entire rail junction.

The project also includes 56 kilometers of tunnels, new high-speed links, and major urban redevelopment above the former rail yards. Originally budgeted at €2.5 billion, the project’s cost has ballooned to well over €10 billion, with further increases expected.

Technical Issues Behind New Delay

According to an internal briefing, the new delay stems largely from problems with the “Digitaler Knoten Stuttgart” (DKS), or Digital Node Stuttgart. The pilot program intended to upgrade the region’s rail control and signaling systems to cutting-edge digital standards. Stuttgart is the first major hub in Germany scheduled to adopt this digitalization model, making it a showcase project for the national rail network.

Key components supplied by Japanese manufacturer Hitachi, including the new digital interlocking system for the station and wider junction, are reportedly facing approval and certification hurdles. The DKS was meant to go live in sync with the underground station’s opening, a requirement that has now become a major bottleneck.

Deutsche Bahn had still planned a partial opening as recently as July 2025. Long-distance trains and parts of the regional network were supposed to begin using the new underground station in December 2026, while other regional services would have continued to terminate at the old terminus until mid-2027.

Those plans have now unraveled. The scope of the “schedule risks involving development and certification at Hitachi, as well as delays in planning approvals was impossible to anticipate,” the briefing says. Compressing the testing phase to maintain the original schedule would have introduced “significant operational risks.” Additional closures during the transition—as would have been required—were deemed unacceptable for passengers and railway operators.

New Opening Plan Expected by Mid-2026

CEO Palla and the board did not present a new target date. Instead, DB Projekt Stuttgart–Ulm GmbH has been ordered to deliver a revised, binding opening concept no later than mid-2026, in coordination with all project partners.

“The top priority is to ensure a safe, reliable rail operation with stable timetables from day one,” the memo states.

To achieve that, all new digital infrastructure, operational processes, and digitally equipped trains must undergo thorough and extended testing. Only once that process is complete will Deutsche Bahn be able to calculate the additional costs. Cost overruns are considered almost certain.

The company’s leadership plans to address the issue in more detail at the next supervisory board meeting on December 10. For now, Deutsche Bahn has declined to comment further, saying it does not want to pre-empt the board’s discussions.

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