BERLIN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- German state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) plans to invest around 12.2 billion euros (13.43 billion U.S. dollars) in railway infrastructure in 2020, 1.5 billion euros more than in 2019, the company announced on Wednesday.
"This is the largest sum we have ever had available in one year for investments in modern infrastructure," said DB Infrastructure Director Ronald Pofalla.
In 2020, Deutsche Bahn plans to renew around 1,800 kilometers of tracks and more than 1,900 switches in Germany. In addition, 160 bridges and more than 800 train stations are set to be modernized.
"Thanks to the political support, we are entering a decade of investments," said Pofalla, who joined the board of Deutsche Bahn in 2015.
DB said it responds to "growing demands" by hiring over 2,000 new skilled construction workers in 2020 alone.
The German government and DB have recently signed a financing agreement, which provides for a record 86 billion euros to be invested in the maintenance and modernization of the country's existing rail network by 2030.
"Investments have priority for this federal government. We are investing record sums to make our country fit for the future. We are also making sure that Deutsche Bahn does the same," said German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.
