{"id":237586,"date":"2025-06-18T18:06:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T08:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=63268"},"modified":"2025-06-18T18:06:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T08:06:10","slug":"germany-needs-more-sidings-and-dispatch-tracks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=237586","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Germany needs more sidings and dispatch tracks\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germany is working on its rail infrastructure big time. Long stretches of rail will get complete overhauls in the coming years. Those are necessary steps forward, but just as necessary are less obvious stretches of rail: sidings and dispatch tracks. Industry insiders want more of those and other facilities to boost the modal shift.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>A variety of rail freight experts spoke out for more sidings, dispatch tracks, shunting yards and maintenance facilities at Transport Logistic in Munich, writes German publication OVB-online. Those are necessary to get more freight from the road onto the rails.<\/p>\n

Germany is already working on its large-scale Generalsanierung infrastructure project, but smaller pieces of infrastructure are just as important as long track sections. Georg Lennarz, a representative from the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), used an analogy to make that point: \u201cCan you imagine a large, modern airport with only one runway and no other infrastructure? No! And it’s the same with rail freight transport: We need not only tracks, but also parking space, for example, storage facilities for freight trains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dismantling of infrastructure<\/h2>\n

In recent decades, it is exactly that type of infrastructure that has been dismantled. That has led to bottlenecks, compromised delivery flexibility and punctuality, and most importantly, hinders the modal shift from road to rail.<\/p>\n

The participating panelists from, among others, DB InfraGO and the rail freight association Die G\u00fcterbahnen, appealed to the federal government to not only focus on the large-scale projects associated with the Generalsanierung. According to them, it needs to quickly release funds for those other vital pieces of infrastructure as well.<\/p>\n

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Sidings<\/strong> are key for businesses to transport their products via rail. Companies are willing to move their freight on trains, and a good way to help them do that is to provide direct access to the mainline rail network. That thought has been expressed by VDV, a former German transport minister and DB Cargo.<\/p>\n

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