It will take some time before the fiber optic network is further expanded along the railway lines. “The DB is preparing the tender for the expansion of the fiber optic network,” said a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn (DB) on request. However, the award process has not yet started. Accordingly, not a single fiber optic kilometer has been built this year. As before, 18. 500 kilometers of around 33. 000 Kilometers of railway network equipped with fiber optics.

That meets with criticism from the opposition in the Bundestag. “The railway could have used the existing route network much earlier to lay fiber-optic connections and thus supply millions of households and companies,” said Victor Perli, a member of the Left Bundestag. “There is a risk of years of delays if there are legal proceedings due to the award procedure.”

Fiber optics for more security Deutsche Bahn currently only uses a small part of the fiber optic network along its routes itself. After all, the group wants to have all signal boxes digitally converted by 2035. Many of them currently have to be operated by hand. In addition, train stations and routes are to be increasingly equipped with the digital guidance and control technology ETCS (European Train Control System). This requires fast internet, also along the routes. In the end, passengers also benefit from a well-developed fiber-optic network, as trains with the new technology can be on the way more punctually to earn. Last year the group created the broadband company, which among other things leases unused fiber optic capacities – the dark fiber – to third-party customers. 18 Customers could already have been won for this, according to a response from the federal government to a request from Linke-A