Five minutes faster from Bad Vilbel to Frankfurt.

20 instead of the previous 25 minutes from the southern edge of the Wetterau to the metropolis of the region.

That's not the world, but the four-lane expansion of the almost 13-kilometer railway line between the two cities is an important step on the way to the traffic turnaround in the Rhine-Main area.

There are always delays on the previously only two-lane route because around 300 long-distance, regional, freight trains and S-Bahn trains travel through this bottleneck every day.

This in turn has annoying consequences not only for commuters to and from Frankfurt, but also for public transport users in the Main metropolis.

One thing leads to another: if an S-Bahn in Bad Vilbel has to let an express train pass, it arrives late in Frankfurt and throws parts of the inner-city timetable out of step there.

In the future, however, the trains from Bad Vilbel to Frankfurt will not only be five minutes faster, but above all much more punctual.

Switching should be easier

The expansion of the rail line had been discussed and argued for decades.

"Discussed forever, planned for a long time, complained about in court for a long time," was how a representative of Deutsche Bahn summarized the history of the construction project in summer 2020.

All the more gratifying that the work is finally progressing largely according to plan.

On December 12 next year - the opening date has already been set - the two exclusive tracks for the S-Bahn line 6 are to be released.

Then the regional trains between Frankfurt and Wetterau can run every 15 minutes during peak hours in the morning and evening.

Hopefully, it will then be easier for hundreds of commuters on the Giessen-Frankfurt route to switch from their car to the train.

The 570 million euros for the first section of the new weather road is money well invested.

Especially since hopefully the second, just as expensive construction phase can begin as early as 2025.

Then, by the end of the decade, the 18 kilometers of rail from Bad Vilbel to Friedberg will be expanded.

Another milestone in the effort to keep local public transport competitive.