{"id":200105,"date":"2025-04-14T19:51:07","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T09:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=61584"},"modified":"2025-04-14T19:51:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T09:51:07","slug":"new-german-coalition-agreement-is-mostly-a-lip-service-to-rail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=200105","title":{"rendered":"New German coalition agreement is mostly a lip service to rail"},"content":{"rendered":"

The German political parties SPD and CDU have come to a coalition agreement, forming the basis of their government during the next legislative term. The agreement is also a window into the future: which policies will Germany pursue in the near future? The answer for rail: probably nothing to be enthusiastic about.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The coalition agreement is not entirely void of positives, but they mostly remain a lip service to the industry. Rail freight association Die G\u00fcterbahnen came out with an analysis of the agreement, pointing out that there are no quantitative targets, clear priorities or binding commitments on the part of the incoming government.<\/p>\n

From money\u2026<\/h2>\n

CDU and SPD want to increase funding for rail. Part of that money is supposed to come from Germany\u2019s special infrastructure fund. From it, the federal government can spend 150 billion euros until 2029. Yet, how much of that will go to rail, the two parties won\u2019t say.<\/p>\n

Either way, it \u201cis likely to lead to rising construction prices and an imprecise prioritisation of measures […] due to a lack of short-term capacities in construction, but also in planning and approval\u201d, comments Die G\u00fcterbahnen. In short: no commitments and no solutions for potential drawbacks.<\/p>\n

The association also heavily criticises the coalition\u2019s plan to return to user financing for rail: track access charges (TAC) are supposed to cover part of the modernisation and expansion works on the German network. The road sector does not carry that same burden to the extent that rail does. On top of that, a reversal of a programme through which the road finances rail infrastructure is planned. That could shrink funding for rail by 5 billion euros.<\/p>\n

And when talking about those same track access charges, the incoming government says that they want to reform the current system. It has led to skyrocketing prices for rail operators, but they do not specify more than that. The continuation of TAC subsidies<\/a> also remains uncertain.<\/p>\n