{"id":332409,"date":"2025-12-18T18:04:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T08:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=68189"},"modified":"2025-12-18T18:04:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T08:04:35","slug":"german-rail-infrastructure-expansion-hindered-most-by-money-not-bureaucracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=332409","title":{"rendered":"\u2018German rail infrastructure expansion hindered most by money, not bureaucracy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germany has adopted a new \u201cInfrastructure Future Act\u201d. The new law should simplify the procedure to build new infrastructure in the country. Will it help to bring positive change to the rail network?<\/strong>
\n<\/span>\u201cWe are ending the era of drawn-out procedures. Germany needs an infrastructure that guarantees safety, mobility, and economic strength\u201d, commented German transport minister Patrick Schieder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the Infrastructure Future Act, we are creating a modern, digital, and pioneering planning law. We are finally giving authorities and companies speed, clarity, and reliability \u2013 so that renovations and expansions reach where they are needed: on our roads, bridges, railways, and waterways.\u201d<\/p>\n

A good initiative, it seems, and very much needed considering Germany\u2019s worn-out rail infrastructure. However, Germany\u2019s rail sector association Allianz pro-Schiene looks at the new law \u201cwith skepticism\u201d. It says that the facilitation of more and quicker rail projects is good, but does not expect any real changes without more money.<\/p>\n

\"Infrastructure
Infrastructure works between Hamburg and Berlin. Image: Deutsche Bahn AG \u00a9 Oliver Lang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good in principle, but…<\/h2>\n

\u201cIn Germany, it simply takes far too long for a planned rail project to actually be built and completed. Therefore, it is fundamentally good that the federal government has finally committed to shortening planning and construction times\u201d, commented the association\u2019s Managing Director Dirk Flege on the positive aspect of the Infrastructure Future Act.<\/p>\n

Yet, he has doubts about the practical impact of the law. “If the federal government continues to allocate only small sums for the expansion and construction of rail lines in the federal budget, even a legally mandated acceleration of planning processes will not lead to new or additional tracks\u201d, said Flege.<\/p>\n

Meaningful sums of money are lacking for rail, but roads can count on three billion more euros in the federal budget. Allianz pro-Schiene concludes: the new infrastructure act will mostly help to build roads faster. And that is fundamentally incompatible with climate goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to infrastructure, we don’t need more of everything faster \u2013 we need more of the right things faster\u201d, added Dirk Flege. In order to get more rail infrastructure, Germany needs a reliable, multi-year binding financing plan, argues the rail alliance.<\/p>\n