The costs for the rehabilitation of the railway network exceed the funds available. With the Deutschlandtakt, a major project is now being postponed for decades.
With the Deutschlandtakt, Deutsche Bahn wants to better network local and long-distance traffic in the Federal Republic. The ambitious goal, which is based on a timetable-oriented expansion of the rail infrastructure, should be completed in 2030. As ZDF reports, the Ministry of Transport has now moved the target date to 2070. Michael Theurer, State Secretary and Federal Government Commissioner for Rail Transport, told the broadcaster that the Deutschlandtakt would be implemented “in the next 50 years as a project of the century”. It was always very clear that the project, which started in 2018, would last for decades, said the FDP politician.
The main reason for the postponement is probably the financing. Enak Ferlemann told the broadcaster that essentially nothing has changed in the medium- and long-term financial planning for the railways since the change of government. The CDU politician was the Federal Government Commissioner for Rail Transport from 2018 to 2021. “The budgets are no longer sufficient”. The department led by the Union was in charge of the Deutschlandtakt project, so Theurer sees the current opposition as partly to blame: “CDU/CSU did not hand over this house and the infrastructure in perfect condition Amnesia equals.”
Deutsche Bahn recently announced that it would invest three billion euros from its own funds in the renovation of the rail network. “We can no longer postpone investments in our outdated and fault-prone rail network,” Berthold Huber, the responsible network board member, told the “Spiegel”. Therefore, the group is now making advance payments.
At the federal government’s closed meeting in Meseberg on Sunday, Finance Minister Christian Lindner could, according to “Spiegel”, present plans that provide for additional billions in funds to reduce the renovation backlog at the railways. The financing requirement for the renovation of the rail network is estimated in government circles at a total of around 86 billion euros.
