Transport associations have sharply criticized the cabinet’s decision regarding the 2027 budget. On Monday, the railway industry association VDV described the move as a “disaster for the rail sector,” particularly for rail freight transport. The industry is already under pressure due to the poor state of infrastructure and the country’s economic weakness—yet now, “the federal government is cutting precisely those instruments intended to ensure competition, modal shift, and security of supply,” explained VDV Vice President Joachim Berends.
Berends described this as “wrong in terms of transport policy, contradictory regarding climate policy, and negligent regarding the country’s standing as a business location.” He cited, for instance, the subsidy for track access charges, which is set to be cut by 65 million euros.
Track access charges are essentially a toll for using the railway network. The system governing these charges has long been criticized and is slated for reform. In the interim, a subsidy for long-distance services was introduced to offset competitive disadvantages.
The German Transport Forum (DVF) criticized the risk that investments in the future might be “neglected” and called for revisions. Pierre Dominique Prümm, Chairman of the DVF Executive Board, explained that—despite fund reallocations and the “mobilization of additional investment capital” from special funds and the defense budget—the net financial resources available in 2027 for the maintenance and expansion of transport infrastructure would be lower than in the current 2026 fiscal year.
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According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, a total of approximately €33.7 billion in transport infrastructure investments is earmarked for the 2027 fiscal year. This is around €0.7 billion less than in the current year.
“Around €20.8 billion is available for rail in 2027, around €11.2 billion for federal trunk roads, and around €1.7 billion for waterways,” Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) explained on Monday regarding the allocation. “With this, we are working on the comeback of our infrastructure.”
However, this means the rail sector will receive around one billion euros less than in the current year. Christiane Rohleder, national chair of the eco-friendly transport association VCD, criticized the fact that these savings are to be made in the areas of “renovation and digitalization.” “It is a grave mistake to cut spending precisely where the railways have the greatest need to catch up.”
The federal cabinet approved the draft budget for the coming year during its meeting on Monday. The budget envisages expenditure of 555.4 billion euros and new borrowing of 118.7 billion euros for the coming year—figures that are both higher than originally planned.
Author: AFP – oer/se
Sources: AFP Press Portal