Delays and full trains are currently the rule rather than the exception in rail transport. And that could remain the case after the main travel season in summer, the head of the Federal Network Agency predicts at Markus Lanz. In view of the energy crisis, coal transports by rail would have priority.
Anyone who has traveled by train in the last few months must be very capable of suffering. In the first half of the year, more than half of all trains arrived late at their destination. There were various reasons for this: defective wagons, construction sites, broken rails. The gas crisis could exacerbate the situation in autumn and winter. The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, pointed this out on the ZDF talk show Markus Lanz and thus confirmed press reports. The reason for this is the coal-fired power plants that will be connected to the grid in the near future to compensate for the lack of gas supplies from Russia.
Müller: “We will experience that we want to and have to prioritize coal transports by rail. The railways and the Ministry of Transport and Economics are currently optimizing these plans.” The aim is to prioritize cabbage transport by rail. “It may have to have consequences for train passengers,” says Müller. A corresponding regulation should come in August, but no later than September. Müller: “That’s also understandable. We need these coal-fired power plants because we want to take gas-fired power plants out of the market.” If transport by ship is not possible, they would have to work by rail.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert also confirms the corresponding plans. “The good thing is that people are mentally prepared for train delays,” he says.
The guests at Markus Lanz actually discussed the rising gas prices on Tuesday evening. The main topic was the amount of the gas levy announced on Monday, on which value added tax must be levied according to the EU. There are now several suggestions as to how the additional costs for German citizens could be reduced. CSU regional group head Alexander Dobrindt called on the federal government to reduce the gas levy by twenty percent, i.e. by the amount of value added tax.
Dieter Janecek, member of the Greens, campaigned in the Handelsblatt to lower the VAT rate for the gas surcharge to five percent. The corresponding EU directive would allow this. The Vice-Chairman of the Economic Committee in the Bundestag, Hannes Walter from the SPD, even proposed a reduction in VAT overall, but especially on gas and electricity. The gas surcharge is to be introduced from October 1st and will amount to a good 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour. With the levy, higher procurement costs are passed on by importers to customers.
But that’s not all, emphasizes Kevin Kühnert. “We are already dealing with enormously increased energy prices,” he says at Markus Lanz. “Now it’s up to us to balance things out, especially for those who don’t have anything.” That is why the traffic light parties are currently negotiating how they could help people with low and medium incomes. The additional costs of the citizens would have to be absorbed, there was agreement on that. However, questions are still open. The gas allocation had to be decided quickly. “The fact that you don’t achieve Olympic gymnastics victories is in the nature of things,” said the SPD general secretary.
For Karin Pittel from the IFO Institute, the discussion about value-added tax in the gas levy is important, but given the total additional costs that households face, it’s just “a drop in the bucket.” The energy expert observes “a massive divergence in gas prices in households.” This is not reduced by the gas surcharge.
Kühnert knows this and announces a third package of measures by the federal government. He can imagine changes in the income tax and calls for an excess profit tax, but without saying which companies it should apply to – and which should not. However, he leaves no doubt that the necessary money is not available for every claim. Because it is also clear to the SPD general secretary that the suspension of the debt brake will expire at the end of the year.
