{"id":587466,"date":"2026-10-28T18:56:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=75468"},"modified":"2026-10-28T18:56:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:56:29","slug":"rail-freight-on-germanys-mixed-traffic-lines-is-underperforming-by-a-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=587466","title":{"rendered":"Rail freight on Germany\u2019s mixed-traffic lines is underperforming by a lot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germany is one of the few countries that built high-speed lines that would also accommodate freight traffic. However, the results are incredibly underwhelming, as a document from the German government showed.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The Bundestag analysed five corridors and their rail freight performances after a parliamentary inquiry. They are the Cologne-Rhine\/Main, Nuremberg-Ingolstadt, Erfurt-Leipzig\/Halle, Ebensfeld-Erfurt, and Wendlingen-Ulm, all opened in the past 30 years. The first one, the government said, was designed only for passengers.<\/p>\n

Not even close<\/h2>\n

The figures presented are quite astounding. For example, when the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt line was built in 2006, the expectations were for around 100 freight trains a day. However, last year, the line was only \u201coccasionally\u201d used, \u201cprimarily as diverted traffic\u201d. This is due to a tunnel passing ban approved by Germany in 2025, the government explained.<\/p>\n

The plans for the Erfurt-Leipzig\/Halle and Ebensfeld-Erfurt were both approved in 1996, with 131 and 168 daily freight convoys estimated. After three decades, the lines are averaging 1.2 and two, for a total of 449 on the former and 651 on the latter for the whole of 2025.<\/p>\n

The last railway mentioned in the government\u2019s document is the Wendlingen-Ulm, which was built between 2010 and 2022. Estimates were far more modest here, with a forecast 32 trains per day for last year. However, the average was actually only 0.4, with 160 freight trains running for the totality of the year.<\/p>\n

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German high-speed lines: freight forecasts vs reality<\/h3>\n

Average freight trains per day | Original forecasts vs 2025<\/p>\n

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131<\/strong><\/div>\n
1.2<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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168<\/strong><\/div>\n
1.8<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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32<\/strong><\/div>\n
0.4<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Erfurt\u2013Leipzig\/Halle<\/div>\n
Ebensfeld\u2013Erfurt<\/div>\n
Wendlingen\u2013Ulm<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Total freight trains in 2025:<\/strong>
\nErfurt\u2013Leipzig\/Halle: 449
\nEbensfeld\u2013Erfurt: 651
\nWendlingen\u2013Ulm: 160<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Germany is one of the few countries that built high-speed lines that would also accommodate freight traffic. However, the results are incredibly underwhelming, as a\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,21473,343,20268,471,47],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-587466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-germany","category-high-speed-lines","category-infrastructure","category-mixed-traffic","category-news","category-rail-news","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t