The traffic light has had bad experiences with targets so far: the housing construction target has been missed, things are not looking good for the e-car target and the mark for the expansion of freight transport by rail is also wobbling. At least according to the BDI.
From the industry’s perspective, the government’s goal for more freight transport by rail is unrealistic. The alliance of the SPD, Greens and FDP aims for a quarter of freight transport to be carried out by rail by 2030. “I think that’s illusory,” said Siegfried Russwurm, President of the Federation of German Industries, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “To achieve this, a third more goods would have to be transported by rail. A third of a transport volume that will continue to grow.”
BDI boss Russwurm: “Definitely too little capacity.”
There is currently “definitely not enough capacity” in the German rail network. The infrastructure is overloaded and in need of renovation, permits and construction take too long. “When we talk about additional routes or tracks on existing routes, it takes decades from the first idea to the first train,” said Russwurm.
Too slow and too unpunctual
Last year, according to data from the Federal Network Agency, 19.8 percent of freight transport was carried out by trains. Russwurm called for more speed in the expansion of the railway – especially with a view across borders: “The rail infrastructure is growing in Europe, but we in Germany are massively on the brakes,” he said.
The BDI boss also criticized declining punctuality in German freight transport. Companies would plan with a certain amount of lead time and buffers when purchasing parts or preliminary products, Russwurm told the Funke newspapers. “But of course it cannot be the claim of a leading economic nation like Germany that tardiness becomes the rule.”
Rail master plan
The rail freight transport master plan was launched back in 2017. In the 2021 coalition agreement, the current federal government made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP confirmed the goal of increasing the share of rail in transport in Germany to 25 percent by 2030. This will be “implemented consistently,” said the FDP-led Federal Ministry of Transport. But this requires massive investments. According to railway boss Richard, the costs could amount to a good 80 billion euros.
Part of the funds will also come from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), which the Federal Constitutional Court overturned at the beginning of December. In response to the ruling, the federal government is now also planning to increase the railway’s equity capital.