State of the railway – the federal government is asking customers for “understanding and forgiveness”
Source: Fabian Strauch/dpa
There is no alternative to a general overhaul of the network, says the Federal Government Commissioner for Rail Transport, Michael Theurer. In long-distance transport, the punctuality rate was 65.2 percent in 2022, 10 percentage points below the previous year’s level.
DWith regard to unpunctual trains due to the dilapidated rail network, the federal government only expects a gradual improvement. The Federal Government Commissioner for Rail Transport, Secretary of State for Transport Michael Theurer (FDP), told the German Press Agency: “One can only ask for understanding from the customers of the railways and also ask for forgiveness. As the new government, we found legacy issues.” He recommends open and honest communication. “The situation is so dramatic that there is no alternative to a general overhaul of the network,” said Theurer.
“With the decision of the coalition committee, we want to invest many billions of additional euros in order to catch up on what has been neglected in the past decades. Because we experience rail customers as loyal customers who travel by rail out of conviction and often also out of responsibility for, for example, climate protection.”
Among other things, the leaders of the coalition had agreed to use a large part of the billions in revenue from a CO₂ surcharge on truck tolls from 2024 for investments in rail.
In long-distance rail transport, the punctuality rate last year was 65.2 percent, 10 percentage points below the previous year’s level. The reasons given by the railways were the outdated and scarce infrastructure, many construction sites and a rapidly growing volume of traffic. The Group goal for this year is a punctuality value in long-distance transport of more than 70 percent. A train is considered late in the statistics if it arrives at a stop with a delay of six minutes or more. Train cancellations are not taken into account.
“As the federal government, we have articulated the expectations of management that punctuality must improve noticeably,” said Theurer. Bahn boss Richard Lutz refers to the network, which has to be described as completely overloaded. “Of course, the public sector is also responsible for the network and we are now fulfilling our tasks.”
Theurer also referred to the decisions of the coalition leaders of the SPD, Greens and FDP to speed up planning: “The decision is great progress for the railways and an important building block of an entire mosaic. In addition, there are faster administrative court proceedings, digital planning processes and the ramping up of investment funds in connection with the capacity expansion in the construction and railway industry and the planned corridor renovation. With these different elements we are on the right track.”