Deutsche Bahn: Missing millions are in other transport projects – economy

The outgoing government had actually set itself great goals in transport policy. The railway was to start a whole new era: more passengers, more punctuality, more efficient trains, new siding. This is what Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) had signaled and promised more climate protection. But reality looks different. The railway is far from the desired punctuality; there were not a lot of siding. And the railway is still suffering from massive financial problems.

The Federal Audit Office is now making it clear in an audit report that the inspectors see the situation as extremely critical. A state like Germany can no longer afford the current situation with its own railway company, says Court of Audit President Kay Scheller. “That is very deplorable.” On Tuesday morning, the Court of Auditors sent its “remarks” on government policy to the members of the Bundestag. The authority devotes a good 50-page chapter solely to transport policy – and attests the ministry under Scheuer, but also under its two predecessors Alexander Dobrindt and Peter Ramsauer (both CSU), a very lax use of financial resources in places.

According to the auditors, a lot of money that was actually intended for the railways has flowed into completely different and far less climate-friendly projects in recent years. Specifically, it is about high sums from the “Rail Connection Funding Program”. According to the paper that the Süddeutsche Zeitung is available, just 110 million euros actually in sidings, so only 38 percent. In contrast, the ministry financed highways and airlines with 124 million euros, and the rest of the money was used to finance other projects.

Deutsche Bahn lacks the millions for highways and airlines

The real goal, more climate protection, is falling by the wayside, complain the examiners. The ministry had set the funds for the project too high for the rail needs since 2007 and thus for many years. If they did not flow out, the money was used for other projects. According to the report, the ministry “failed to observe essential principles of budget law”. The new government urgently needs to scrutinize the use of unspent railway funds for “non-rail purposes”, demands the audit office. After all, these were otherwise missing when expanding rail traffic.

The Bonn control authority is just as critical of lax controls on the railways by the Ministry of Transport. The Court of Auditors scrutinized a funding program worth around 650 million euros for the modernization of marshalling yards, which will run until 2026. The Court of Auditors complained that the only measurable goal of increasing performance was missed by 29 percent. There are no conclusions at all about climate protection. The situation is similar with an almost 100 million euro funding program for more energy-efficient trains. In addition, the railway does not always transfer profits from group companies to the federal government as planned.

The ministry is busy building noise barriers, but does not check whether they work

The report also reveals compliance problems in the railway’s supervisory board. Conflicts of interest would mean that the arbitrators for the railway market could hardly be impartial, complains the Court of Auditors. Problematic double functions are to blame. Because so far mainly members of parliament and top officials have sat on the railway supervisory board. On the one hand, you would have to represent the railway’s competitive interests, but on the other hand, as politicians and civil servants, you would also have to influence the market organization and competition with railway competitors. That is not compatible with each other. The ministry must regulate the composition of the supervisory board in the future, resolve existing conflicts of interest and exclude such cases in the future, demands the audit office.

Elsewhere, too, the Court of Auditors complains that the Ministry of Transport has handled the money rather negligently. In the past 15 years, the federal government has invested a total of 2.2 billion euros in noise barriers on federal highways. In the end, however, the inspectors repeatedly found deficiencies that “were ignored by the road construction administration”. According to the Court of Auditors, however, this is not a surprise. To the astonishment of the auditors, noise barriers are generally not tested for their acoustic effect after they have been built.

This is a major project: 2500 kilometers of noise barriers were erected during the test period. The administration has checked the fulfillment of structural requirements. An acoustic test of the noise barriers erected does not take place at any time, complains the Court of Auditors. In Austria, however, such measurements are common and have significantly improved the quality. The Ministry of Transport must at least ensure sample tests also in Germany.

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