BERLIN, July 11 (Reuters) - Germany's state railways

will on Monday close for five months a main line connecting the

financial centre of Frankfurt with the south to carry out a 1.3

billion euro ($1.4 billion) upgrade to creaking infrastructure.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Tracks between Frankfurt and Mannheim are congested, and

delays can have a major impact elsewhere in Germany's

33,000-kilometre (20,000-mile) network, as well as on trains to

neighbouring countries like Switzerland and France.

The state of German railways has been in the international

spotlight during the Euro 2024 soccer tournament, with fans

complaining of crowded trains and travel disruptions.

CONTEXT

While rail operator Deutsche Bahn has bought

hundreds more modern high-speed ICE trains in recent years, many

tracks, signal boxes and other infrastructure need repairs or

upgrades.

In June, just over half of all long-distance trains were on

time, according to Deutsche Bahn statistics. In reality, more

connections are affected because the company classifies a train

as delayed if it is at least six minutes late. Cancelled

connections are not counted.

BY THE NUMBERS

Deutsche Bahn's planned investment of 1.3 billion euros in

this project is up from an initial estimate of 500 million

euros.

Over the next five months, it will rebuild 140 kilometres of

tracks and overhead wires, improve 20 stations and replace more

than 150 switches.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Deutsche Bahn hopes disruptions on its overhauled main lines

will decline by 80%. In total, the company plans to renovate 40

rail corridors to stabilise the system.

The next major renovation is scheduled for next year between

Berlin and Hamburg, Germany's most populous cities.

($1 = 0.9233 euros)