DB Projekt Stuttgart-Ulm GmbH celebrated the first tunnel breakthrough in the Stuttgart 21 project with the participation of numerous guests of honor. The ceremony took place in the Bad Cannstatt tunnel under Stuttgart's Kriegsberg.

The speakers were Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Bahn AG, Thomas Strobl, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Digitalization and Migration of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Transport, Fritz Kuhn, Lord Mayor of the State Capital Stuttgart, Marcelino Fernández Verdes, Chairman of the Executive Board of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft, Simone Herrmann, Tunnel Sponsor of the Bad Cannstatt Tunnel, Manfred Leger, Chairman of the Management Board of DB Projekt Stuttgart-Ulm GmbH, and Georg Brunnhuber, Chairman of Verein Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm e.V.

"The first tunnel breakthrough in Stuttgart is another important building block for the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project and thus for the attractive rail transport of the future. Stuttgart 21 is an asset for Stuttgart, the region, the state and for the whole of Germany and Europe," said Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Chairman of the Board of Management of Deutsche Bahn AG, in his speech.

"The rail project ensures that an entire region, a federal state, moves closer together and opens up to Europe. It brings people together, but also economic areas and science centers. A few weeks ago, the miners reached the city gates of Ulm. With today's tunnel breakthrough, they have now also arrived at Stuttgart's future main station. Important steps have thus been taken, showing that we are well on the way to putting these important transport and economic arteries in the country on a new, solid and sustainable footing. Our infrastructure - not only rail and road, but also the digital highway - is and will remain the driving force behind innovation and progress, especially for our medium-sized economy," said Thomas Strobl, Deputy Minister President and Minister of the Interior, Digitalization and Migration of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

"After only 33 months of construction, the miners and engineers have reached an important stage in the realization of Stuttgart 21. The tunnel breakthrough is one of the most challenging sections of this important major project," said Marcelino Fernández Verdes, Chairman of the Executive Board of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft.

"I have great respect for the people I have met here in tunnel construction. They bring an idealism to their work and have a cohesion among themselves that is very special. This community is particularly important down here because you have to be able to rely on each other to a degree that is vital for survival," said tunnel patron Simone Herrmann.

"Things are moving forward in the Stuttgart-Ulm rail project! This first tunnel breakthrough at the future main station will be followed by several more. 2016 was an extraordinarily successful year for construction progress on the rail project," said Manfred Leger, Chairman of the Management Board of DB Projekt Stuttgart-Ulm GmbH.

"The miners and engineers of the Bad Cannstatt tunnel have given themselves and us a nice pre-Christmas present," said Georg Brunnhuber, chairman of the Verein Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm e.V. "With the first tunnel breakthrough in Stuttgart, all those who have supported the project for so long can rejoice, because the project is progressing meter by meter day by day."

In the further course of the breakthrough ceremony, the last meter of rock was cut through in the east tube of the Bad Cannstatt tunnel after ecumenical words of blessing and the jointly sung Steigerlied.