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Berlin (dpa) - More than 3000 kilometers of disused railway lines can reactivate from the point of view of two traffic associations without too much effort. This would improve passenger transport in Germany, according to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) and Allianz pro Schiene in Berlin.

Because this could close numerous gaps in the German rail network and cope better with the rising passenger numbers. The federations accounted for 186 sections of tracks nationwide, which have been decommissioned in recent decades and which are worth reinstalling. The sections are between one and 60 kilometers long. If you put them all back into operation, could expand the entire German rail network by eight percent, said a VDV spokesman.

Reopening railway lines that are no longer in use could be a step towards implementing the "Deutschland-Takt" project with which the Federal Ministry of Transport intends to strengthen railways. The train should be punctual and faster, reaching the terminals more direct and reliable.