are lower than on other routes. The ad hoc structural additions were completed in early November 2015. The Federal Railway Authority finally granted the operating license for the route on 8 December 2015. Further problems occurred with the approval of the ETCS system. So in the course of test and acceptance runs, software errors and the need to adjust the track configuration data have been observed. After the elimination of the errors, authorisation to use the ETCS system could be given on 10 September 2015. Operations After 100 days of operation, Deutsche Bahn pointed to positive results. The number of passengers has increased by 35 percent in the first two months of operation, with a total of 750,000 of passengers counted on the new line. According to surveys, many commuters had switched from private transport to rail. 5380 scheduled operations ran under ETCS up to 17 March 2016. 95 percent of these ran without problems with ETCS. ETCS disturbances had occurred, among other things due to the incorrect actions of employees, problems with the digital train radio, problems with rolling stock and a systemic failure of the ETCS infrastructure. The software bug in the ETCS was resolved by a software update in May 2016. Costs and funding The estimated cost of the route was estimated in mid-2014 as €2.967 billion. At the end of 2013, €2.412 billion had been spent. €555 million was outstanding. In 1993, estimated costs was given as DM 4.4 billion. At that time, construction was planned to begin in 1994 and was to be completed in 2000. In 2003, the cost of the route was specified as €2.31 billion, in 2007 as €2.666 billion By 2013, this amount had changed only slightly to €2.74 billion, The cost was specified as €2.967 billion in mid-2014. 2010 was the year with the highest expenses for the construction of the track, €403 million (see next chart). As part of an application for EU funding, the project was rated as having a cost-benefit ratio of 2.2. As part of the Trans-European Networks, part of the project has been cofinanced from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Thus €57 million of ERDF assistance was provided during the 2000–2006 period for the construction of southern link to Halle. In the period 2007–2013, a further €49.8 million was approved for the project. As part of the stimulus package, it was also provided with