The Wunderline is the project around the Groningen - Bremen railway line, aimed at achieving a better connection with a reliable timetable, less travelling time and more comfort making this train a good alternative to the car. The Wunderline will also strengthen the border region.
The province of Groningen is working intensively with the German states, the Land of Lower Saxony and Bremen to realise the Wunderline. In February 2019, they concluded a cooperation agreement. The Landkreisen, cities and municipalities along the railway line are also working together in the Chain Mobility Network Wunderline to improve the station environment, station facilities and connections to local public transport. This ensures good door-to-door connections. This integrated approach and cross-border cooperation makes the Wunderline more than just a rail link.
Ensuring a good cross-border rail link to Germany was originally felt mainly in Groningen province. After intensive consultation with the German partners and stakeholders (Landkreis Leer, the IHK in Emden, the Land Niedersachsen and Bremen), studies started in 2015 after which the Wunderline Cooperation Agreement was concluded in 2019. Thereafter, further planning and implementation began on the Dutch and German sides, coordinated by a joint project organisation.
Province of Groningen and Land Niedersachsen together with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and Bremen form the Wunderline steering group. The chairman of the Wunderline steering group is State Secretary Frank Doods of Lower Saxony.
They are responsible for carrying out track and station improvement works. Deutsche Bahn does this in Germany and ProRail in the Netherlands.
The first part (construction step 1) of the Wunderline improvement works will be completed in 2025. At the same time, the project continues to improve the Wunderline and further reduce journey times.
In terms of rail connection, the Friesenbrücke is directly part of the Groningen - Leer - Bremen line; after all, without a bridge, there is no railway. This bridge was destroyed by a collision in 2015 and construction work for a new bridge will be completed in 2025. The realisation of Building Step 1 of the Wunderline and the Friesenbrücke will be carried out from Deutsche Bahn by a single project organisation.
The Friesenbrücke is located in Germany and the choice to build a new swing lift bridge was made in Germany (a tunnel fell out because of the high costs). The Dutch government or Groningen province have no say in the final choice. The Netherlands does not co-pay for the new bridge. The Wunderline timetable will fit perfectly on the new Friesenbrücke. While working out the plans for the new Friesenbrücke, this Wunderline timetable was taken as a starting point.
Between the responsible parties in Germany, Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Wasser- und Schifffahrtamt (WSA), there is an agreement on the use of the railway and the waterway, the Ems. In doing so, sufficient time has been scheduled to allow for the Wunderline timetable in 2025 as well as sufficient time for the opening and closing of the bridge and the passage of ships. The new Friesenbrücke is available 20 minutes per hour for trains, 25 minutes per hour for ships and needs 15 minutes per hour to open and close. This creates a balanced distribution for ships and trains.
The Wunderline will continue to have a transfer in Leer for the next few years. From 2036 at the earliest, a connection without a changeover could be possible.
Several studies from 2015-2019 showed that a train connection with interchange in Leer was the best variant. This took into account implementation time, cost and timetable, among other factors,
Between Groningen and Leer, the express train stops at Groningen, Europapark, Scheemda, Winschoten, Bad Nieuweschans, Weener and Leer stations. And further at Bunde and Ihrhove stations, as soon as they come into operation. The local train will run between Groningen and Winschoten from the same time, serving all intermediate stations.
There is and will be enough space for the Wunderline at Groningen main station. The renovated station will have interconnected tracks. When these are ready, the Leer-Groningen express train will continue as a local train to Leeuwarden.
We are also looking into whether and how a train without changes can run between Groningen and Bremen in the future. The most promising variant fits well at both stations.
The Lelylijn is the proposed rail link from the Randstad to Groningen (and Leeuwarden), passing through the provinces of Flevoland and Friesland. Plans for the Lelylijn are to be further developed into a preliminary design. A final decision on funding and construction of the Lelyline should be taken by the end of 2024. In the future, the Wunderline will allow the Lelyline to travel from Amsterdam via Groningen to Bremen and on to Hamburg and Copenhagen. This connects the Lelyline and Wunderline.
The Lower Saxony line concerns the possible Groningen-Enschede connection and partly coincides with the Wunderline route. Thereby, the connection to Veendam is already in operation and the plans for Veendam - Stadskanaal are being worked on. The remaining section from Stadskanaal to Emmen is still being developed.
In 2012, when launching the administrative ambition in the province of Groningen to improve the quality of the rail connection, a journey time of 1.23 hours was taken as the starting point. Upon further investigation, it became clear that this ambition amounted to a high-speed rail link and that financial resources on both sides of the border were lacking for this. The 2019 Cooperation Agreement therefore assumes a regional train connection with a journey time of 2.26 hours in 2025 and 2.11 hours after completion of Building Step 2.
The Provincial Council of Groningen has decided not to go for electrification, but to go for hydrogen and/or battery trains. This also applies to the Wunderline.
Cross-border cooperation, especially in large infrastructure projects, is always more complex than that within a single country. Not only do the different languages (Dutch and German) play a role, there are also differences in mutual communication and working methods, financing, relationships within the government and approach. What is important is that there is good, open and direct communication between all involved, with everyone always going for the common goal, the realisation of the Wunderline.