Deutsche Bahn and political representatives have held the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the Pfaffensteigtunnel near Stuttgart Airport, launching the next visible phase of the rail project. The approximately 11-kilometre tunnel will connect the Böblingen area with the airport and route Gäubahn services into Stuttgart’s future underground main station. Trains are planned to use the tunnel from 2033, improving links between southern Germany, Stuttgart Airport and Zürich.
Deutsche Bahn chief executive Evelyn Palla, Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger and representatives of Baden-Württemberg attended the ceremony on 12 October. Preparatory work began in February, including the construction of shafts near the airport to support tunnel excavation. Work on a rescue tunnel is now beginning, while the large tunnel-boring machines are expected to start operating in summer 2027.
The Pfaffensteigtunnel is a follow-on project to Stuttgart 21 and is being financed separately from the main hub project. The federal government has allocated approximately €1.69 billion. Once operational, the tunnel will carry Gäubahn trains from Böblingen to the new airport station before they continue through the Filder Tunnel to Stuttgart’s underground station. Deutsche Bahn’s current planning points to a journey-time reduction of about 15 minutes between Stuttgart and Zürich.