Germany - plan for the railway until 2035 06/12/24
< Zurück(automated translation from German)
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen present plan for the railway until 2035
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen have presented a strategy for the state of the railways in 2035. How a modal split of 30 percent in freight transport is to be achieved is described in an eight-page paper entitled “Rail 2035”.
December 6, 2024 | by Michael Cordes
Alliance 90/The Greens have announced ambitious goals in a new railway strategy. "We want 30 percent of rail freight traffic and 15 percent of passenger traffic to be on rail by 2035," says a paper that the parliamentary group published today.
Turnaround within ten years
"We can reverse the trend within ten years," says the new strategy. With the goal of a 30 percent share of rail in freight transport, we would be at the same level as Switzerland and Austria. The modal split is currently stagnating at around 20 percent, depending on the calculation method. The aim of the traffic light government was to increase this share to 25 percent by 2030. Now, a further five percentage points are to be added by 2035.
"We will not come up with yesterday's political solutions," the party promises. The Greens want to learn from good examples from abroad. The key to change is a change in mentality in ministries and offices, away from insisting on the status quo and more openness to change and innovation in the rail sector. In addition to its primary function as a safety authority, the Federal Railway Authority (EBA) is to be given the task of supporting the politically defined goals for rail transport and opening itself up more to innovation. The Greens believe that the EBA and the ministry, together with DB InfraGo, are responsible for ensuring that infrastructure projects are completed on time and within budget. Deutsche Bahn will therefore concentrate on its core business - rail transport in Germany and Europe.
The reform of the infrastructure company should be continued in line with the logic of the current reform, completed and then continuously evaluated. Any gains from the infrastructure will remain entirely in the infrastructure. If the goals are met with the measures described, the debate about separation and network and operation will no longer be necessary.
Two major growth areas in rail freight transport
Alliance 90/The Greens see two major growth areas in rail freight transport: firstly, combined transport (CT). The plan is to expand existing loading terminals and build additional terminals for this purpose. Battery-electric trucks should be able to be charged in the terminals. "We will ensure that there is sufficient capacity in the rail network for this growth area," the Greens promise in the paper.
The party sees the second growth area in cross-border transport. Driving trucks hundreds of kilometres across different countries unnecessarily damages motorways, requires an unnecessary amount of energy and is vulnerable to social dumping at the expense of drivers. "We will therefore expand the transit routes for rail (Trans-European Networks TEN-V) following the example of Switzerland and work in the EU to implement regulatory measures for fair competition between rail and road," the strategy states. The Greens also have traffic from and to Germany in mind. "In particular, the rail border crossings to Poland and the Czech Republic must be expanded and electrified," is another suggestion.
Freight trains should stop less due to overtaking
Rail freight transport is an equal player in the expansion of rail infrastructure. "We will ensure that freight trains stop less due to overtaking and instead continue to move," promise the Greens.
The party also supports the introduction of the Digital Automatic Coupling (DAK). It is relevant for all areas of rail freight transport. Germany will work for a reliable migration strategy at EU level. "We need a plannable implementation with a clear, binding target date," demands the party. The Europe-wide introduction should be supported with national funds and coordination must take place Europe-wide. However, the prerequisite is that the coupling proves its usability and the advantages for freight transport in the future are proven.
Reliable financing of the network over six years
The basis for this ambitious project is a well-functioning rail network. The Greens criticize the fact that a new rail financing architecture was agreed in the Rail Acceleration Commission, but that it has not yet been implemented. "It is crucial that financing is reliable and secure over a period of at least six years," the paper states. This also reduces construction costs, because only with sufficient planning security can planning and construction capacities be made available in the companies. In addition, adequate financing must be ensured. The number of funding pots and, above all, financing requirements must be radically simplified and reduced. "We are relying on shares from truck toll revenues, on appropriate user fees and on budget funds released through the gradual reduction of environmentally harmful subsidies, as well as on reallocation of previous expansion and new construction funds for the road to the long-neglected rail," are the proposals. This will secure the financing of the existing infrastructure until 2035.
The Greens are proposing a second financing method for the expansion of infrastructure and the digitalization of the Deutschlandtakt. The financing of rail in Austria is a model. The neighboring country distributes the investment costs among the generations using them.
Praise and criticism from the association "Die Güterbahnen"
The party wants to make the development of track access charges more reliable and predictable. The track access charge system should be developed in the direction of a marginal cost calculation in order to create incentives for increased rail traffic. The level of user charges could also be based on demand.
"With this strategy, the Greens are setting a benchmark for other parties," said Neele Wesseln, managing director of the "Die Güterbahnen" association, commenting on the paper. However, the association does not agree with all of the proposals. " We can agree with 80 percent of the paper, although we have noticed that some of it is not well thought out," said Wesseln.
She described the proposed changes at DB as a "mini-reform". However, in order to achieve the goals, a restructuring of the DB Group is a prerequisite. The association is also critical of the strengthening of the EBA. "The EBA should concentrate on its current role of ensuring safety in railway operations," said Wesseln.