BBI-rail contracts signed

 

Accompanying the official start of construction work on BBI Airport, the Federal Government of Germany, the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg, Deutsche Bahn AG and the Berlin Airports today signed the rail contracts for BBI Airport. This now provides the contractual basis for the funding and realization of the BBI rail link and the airport railway station under the terminal building. Construction work on the rail subproject can now go ahead as planned.

“The contract completions are a decisive step towards BBI Airport. The rail link is being financed to a very high degree by the federal government. This shows that the government is standing firm to its responsibility for the most important infrastructure project within the economic reconstruction of Eastern Germany. The linking of air and rail transport is a prime example of an integrated transport system”, said Federal Minister of Transport Wolfgang Tiefensee at the signing ceremony. “We expect that the parties performing the construction work will now make all efforts to achieve the ambitious goal of a simultaneous start of operation for the airport and the rail link in 2011. This will enable good passenger rail services for the airport right from the start. With the conclusion of the financial agreements with Deutsche Bahn AG following difficult negotiations, the federal government, Berlin and Brandenburg have now created all the necessary conditions for this fulfilment”, Tiefensee said.

“Today’s signing of the contracts is a milestone for the BBI Airport rail link”, said Hartmut Mehdorn. “This is about the future of mobility in Berlin and Brandenburg and about the economic necessity of combining the strengths of air transport and the railway. Our goal is to connect the European railway hub Berlin Hauptbahnhof and the new BBI Airport with a journey time of 20 minutes.”

“The BBI rail link and the terminal railway station are key elements of the capital’s new BBI Airport”, was how airport director Dr Rainer Schwarz commented the signing of the contracts. “The contracts provide an outstanding basis for speedy realization of the rail facilities.”

The ICE railway station directly under the BBI terminal comprises two platforms for regional and long-distance trains and one platform for the S-Bahn (metropolitan rail link). Excellent connections to the centre of Berlin and to the surrounding region will create optimum accessbility for BBI Airport. Construction work on the railway station will commence in 2007.

In detail the contracts provide for the following aspects:

The Finance Agreement for the BBI Rail Link contains the provisions governing finance of the airport railway station together with the rail link from the Berlin Outer Ring and Schönefeld Station to the Berlin-Görlitz rail route. The construction costs amount to 636 million euros. The federal government is providing 576 million euros of this sum, while the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg are each providing 30 million euros. Moreover the federal states undertake to order cost-covering rail services for a period of 20 years.

Contractual partners: Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, Federal State of Brandenburg, Federal State of Berlin, DB Netz AG, DB Station & Service AG, DB Energie GmbH

A Fixed-Sum Agreement governs all tasks which Berlin Airports is to carry out on behalf of Deutsche Bahn AG in realization of the skeleton construction work for the underground tunnel facilties and airport railway station.

Contractual partners: Flughafen Berlin-Schönefeld GmbH, DB Netz AG, DB Station&Service AG