When Deutsche Bahn intervenes in the course of rivers or riverbanks through construction work, it compensates accordingly. In doing so, it ensures that the course of the river regains its natural dynamics and that the riverbanks can develop into valuable habitats for many different animal and plant species.
Floodways for greater biodiversity
For example, when building the new Berlin-Nuremberg line (VDE8), Deutsche Bahn created nine floodways in Maintal (near Wiesen) as a compensatory measure. These floodways ensure that water is optimally distributed across the landscape during flooding and restore the land’s original retention capacity in this section of the river. The newly created ground areas were sowed using the Heudrusch method. This involves harvesting seeds from selected donor plots in the surrounding area and spreading these over the new plots. In contrast to conventional lawn seed mixtures, this method creates extensive ecologically valuable biotopes with native vegetation.
Numerous other watercourses along the route of this major project were also returned to their natural state. Here, Deutsche Bahn created both deep and shallow areas within the bodies of water, thereby returning the watercourses to a more natural state and improving the habitat for plants and animals.
Flood protection through floodways
A floodway is also being built in Gelnhausen in Hesse as an ecological compensation measure for the expansion of the Hanau-Gelnhausen railroad line. The so-called “Flutmulde Nord” is connected to the Kinzig river and can hold large volumes of water during a flood event. This protects the urban area from flooding.
