Missing billions in the budget
Railway associations see the German clock in danger
February 5, 2024, 3:56 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling shakes the traffic light’s billion-dollar plans for a modern rail network. Now the priorities are being changed quickly: renovation now, new construction later. Railway associations warn that in the end the passenger will have to pay for it again.
After plans became known that the railway would first have to focus on renovating existing rail infrastructure due to a lack of budget funds, railway associations fear dire consequences for passengers. The managing director of the Allianz pro Schiene association, Dirk Flege, told the Funke newspapers that concentrating solely on the existing network would be the end of the German cycle. “In parallel to the renovation of dilapidated tracks, we also need new rail connections. Otherwise what the federal government’s railway commissioner predicted a year ago will happen: the German clock will not come until 2070 at the earliest,” he explained.
Karl-Peter Naumann, honorary chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, described the cuts as a “severe blow to the transport transition and the goal of achieving climate neutrality”. The urgently needed expansion and new construction projects would only be delayed. But even such a delay does not demonstrate a forward-looking transport policy, said Naumann. “If passenger and freight traffic is to be shifted to rail, additional capacity is needed in the already overloaded network,” demanded Naumann.
Network renovation before new construction
At the weekend it became known that the rail infrastructure company InfraGo had decided to initially focus on renovating the existing network. Numerous modernization measures, however, are said to have been put aside as a priority, “Der Spiegel” quoted from a corresponding letter. When asked, Deutsche Bahn said that it was fundamentally sticking to the new construction and expansion projects. “Due to the current budget situation, it was necessary to review the timing of these projects at short notice. The focus of implementation, as agreed with the federal government, is initially on the modernization and renewal of the existing network and on the projects that are already under construction.” , said a spokesman.
Railway supervisory board member Stefan Gelbhaar emphasized to the Funke newspapers that the railway would not receive as much money in 2024 and the following years as in the last few decades. “Despite the many additional billions, there are obviously simulation games within the railway to stop new construction projects. The Ministry of Transport and the railway are called upon to quickly provide clarity here,” he said.