in the construction of the Leipzig-Gröbers section was announced in early 2001. Due to geological problems in a former mining area, the commissioning of the section through the Gröbers railway junction was postponed for one year to 2003. €370 million has been invested in this -long section of the new railway between Leipzig Messe and Flughafen Leipzig/Halle. The track is in this section is currently operated at up to . The section was opened on 30 June 2003. In mid-March 2002, the federal government announced a freeze on work on the whole route and announced its intention to adjust funding for the DB. The then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder announced on 10 March 2002 that construction would resume. The project had not been adequately funded by the previous government and have therefore had to be postponed. Deutsche Bahn welcomed the decision. Yet at the end of February 2002, the former Minister of Transport Bodewig suggested that the realisation of the project was uncertain. The construction of the Saubach Viaduct began in the first half of 2004. The first construction phase of the transformation of the southern approach to Halle to introduce the new line ran into the town started in October 2005. New external platforms were built south of the existing site at Ammendorf/Beesen station. A new electronic interlocking took over the functions of four new signal boxes and a total of 6300 m of noise barriers were built. After the completion of this work, the speed is in this section was raised from . A total of €92.5 million was invested in these works, including €64.4 million from the European Regional Development Fund. The upgrade of the long section was completed at the end of May 2008. In a second stage of construction, the connection of the new line, including a crossing structure, was built from 2010 to 2011. The construction of the Saale-Elster Viaduct started in 2006; some access roads had previously been built on platforms on stilts in a nature reserve. By February 2006 preconstruction work was under way in the Unstrut Viaduct area. In December 2006, the Saubach Viaduct was completed as the first major engineering structure on this section. The Federal Government and Deutsche Bahn AG announced in December 2006 that the project would be completed in 2015. In December 2006, a parliamentary group of supporters was founded to promote the "completion of the German Unity