On June 23, Alexander Dobrindt, German Federal Minister of Transport, presented the master plan for rail freight transport together with industry representatives. It was elaborated during a round table with the rail freight transport industry organised by the Ministry together, and will be implemented together with the sector.
The master plan for rail freight transport provides for a comprehensive package of measures designed to offer the transport industry more competitive and higher quality rail transport services. The focus here is on ensuring efficient infrastructure, comprehensive use of innovation potentials and improvement of the transport policy.
The main points of the master plan for rail freight transport are as follows:
-) With the entry into force of the 2018 budget, financial means of EUR 350 million will be used to cut rail freight prices. This shall help companies invest into innovation.
-) The routes and major nodes in the rail network which are important for freight transport are being expanded or newly built. Overtaking tracks allow the use of longer freight trains (740 metre network).
-) Digitization, such as online booking of train paths, increases capacity in the network. Digital timetables and regulations or digital route allocation accelerate operation processes.
“Our goal is to move more freight transport to environmentally friendly railway, to increase the market share of the sector and to strengthen the industry on the long term,” explained Alexander Dobrindt in front of the press. To this end, companies will be relieved, to make them stronger and more competitive.
The federal research program “Future rail freight transport” research structures will be permanently established in the railway sector. This includes a promotional landscape to bring innovations faster onto track.
