Munich approves Transrapid rail project

Downtown Munich will be connected to the city's airport by a Transrapid rail link, according to a report on Bloomberg today.

Germany's southern state of Bavaria signed off on an agreement with state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn AG and a group of investors to build the line, which could become the first commercial Transrapid rail link in operation in Europe.

The high-speed line had been in the pipeline for some time but funding shortfalls held it back, according to reports, which say building on the line will begin in summer next year.

Siemens AG, ThyssenKrupp AG and Deutsche Bahn will all be involved in building the 37km line estimated to cost about €2.2bn.