BERLIN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The German rail company Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) will invest 10.7 billion euros (12.1 billion U.S. dollars) in rail infrastructure and railway stations in 2019, the company announced on Wednesday.
According to Deutsche Bahn, around 1,500 kilometers of track, over 300 bridges and around 650 railway stations will be renovated during 2019. DB is also planning to expand the rail network. In order to increase capacity, 50 major projects are planned and under construction.
"We are on the right course. The investments in the railway network are having an impact. Since 2010, we have renovated 16,000 kilometers of track and therewith almost half of the rail network," Ronald Pofalla, chief infrastructure officer of DB said.
Customers of the German rail company are to be affected as little as possible by the construction measures. To make this possible, more construction workers are to be deployed, more auxiliary structures built and more night work done, according to Deutsche Bahn.
"We are getting better and better" at maintaining operations during ongoing construction works, Pofalla said. Although the construction volume had risen by 20 percent, the delays associated with this had been reduced by 27 percent, Pofalla added.
