The German Ministry of Transport has handed over its rail infrastructure plan to DB InfraGO. It is the first iteration of what should become a five-yearly occurrence. Germany hopes for improvements to its rail network, but the document risks falling short of making a real impact.
The document turns German rail infrastructure planning into a five-year cycle, where progress is evaluated on a yearly basis. It integrates a variety of infrastructure measures into a single system, like electrification, ETCS implementation and corridor renovations. This is seen as a positive step by rail freight association Die Guterbahnen.
Meanwhile, the five-year plan introduces tangible KPIs to monitor progress. These include newly constructed track kilometres (155 kilometres by 2030), electrified track kilometres, noise-reduced track kilometres, and delay minutes due to infrastructure issues. Germany is also introducing a KPI on corridor renewal kilometres, but this remains blank while the concept is under review.
Freight also features in the plan. Important freight transport measures, such as the 740-metre-long train network, measures on congested rail lines, and corridor upgrades, are included in the plan according to Die Güterbahnen.
Will it have a real impact?
“The federal government’s infrastructure plan is an important step towards a more reliable and efficient rail infrastructure in Germany”, believes DB InfraGO CEO Philipp Nagl.
“It creates a common framework in which goals, measures, and impacts are transparently integrated. For us at DB InfraGO, this is of great importance because clear priorities form the basis for effective planning and implementation. With the infrastructure plan, we can strategically advance the right measures for the existing network, modernization, and expansion. This leads to increased stability and quality, which ultimately benefits our customers.”
The existence of a plan could cautiously be interpreted as positive news for rail freight. Still, it risks not having any real clout. DB InfraGO is not legally bound by the document. Nor does it have a financial framework to back it up. Die Güterbahnen points out that a long-term benchmark, against which the priorisation of infrastructure measures can be aligned, is lacking. Individual measures do not have any indication of the expected capacity gains after implementation
Lastly, the infrastructure plan does not yet include the corridor renovation concept. This is currently being reviewed, and uncertainty remains surrounding its future. DB CEO Evelyn Palla has indicated, however, that the company plans to reduce the number of annual corridor shutdowns in favour of a more spread-out approach over a longer period of time.