The coalition agreement says it in black and white: By 2030, three quarters of the rails should be equipped with electric overhead lines. However, current figures show that this could be difficult.
The SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed in the coalition agreement to modernize the German rail network. Specifically, it says that a total of 75 percent of the rail network should be electrified by 2030.
The reasons are obvious. A rail network powered by electricity produces less CO2, is therefore more climate-friendly and also more efficient.
However, so far only 62 percent of the German rail network has been electrified. This emerges from figures presented by the Association of German Transport Companies and the Pro-Rail Alliance this afternoon ARD capital studio present. Dirk Flege, the managing director of the Pro-Rail Alliance, calls the numbers “regrettable” and calls on the federal government to move more quickly.
Associations demand Reducing bureaucracy
In order to achieve the goals we have set ourselves, 4,500 kilometers of routes would have to be equipped with overhead lines within the next few years. From the point of view of the two associations, this can only be achieved by reducing bureaucracy.
“Specifically, we suggest not carrying out a cost-benefit assessment for every single project,” said Flege. The financing of the projects also needs to be simplified.
Other countries are showing the way
It is not surprising that Switzerland is also at the forefront when it comes to rail electrification. In the public transport model country, the trains can run on electricity for every single meter – the rate is an impressive one hundred percent.
Germany is in the middle of the European rankings, between Poland and France. Even within Germany, the differences are huge. While the city states of Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin in particular have almost all routes equipped with overhead lines, in Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia the figure is far less than half.
Torben Ostermann, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, April 17, 2024 6:02 a.m