Germany’s transport minister Alexander Dobrindt announced a new draft legislation to ban noisy freight train wagons after the end of 2020.
German Pro-Rail Alliance has welcomed the draft legislation, saying that “is important that this law finally brings relief to the noise-plagued people who live near railway lines,” the managing director of the Pro-Rail Alliance, Dirk Flege, commented.
The non-profit transport association criticised the exemptions in the current draft legislation. Although there is to be a general ban on noisy freight wagons, they could be allowed to operate in exceptional circumstances by limiting their speed. Such exemptions are intended to avoid conflicts with EU law. “The draft legislation is trying to achieve a reduction in the noise burden on local residents without coming into conflict with EU regulations. This is a balancing act that could have unpleasant side-effects,” warned the Pro-Rail Alliance’s managing director. “Speed limits on freight trains with noisy wagons will reduce noise emissions but that will cause congestion on the network.” This would make rail freight transport inefficient, particularly on busy main routes, and benefit road freight transport, which already enjoys policy advantages. “Of course, it cannot be the aim of noise abatement policies to cause a shift in freight transport onto trucks, increasing noise levels on the roads,” Flege said.
The transport ministry would therefore be well advised to seriously re-evaluate these details. “A clear ban on noisy freight wagons without the highly complex exemption rules, which will clearly disadvantage rail freight transport, would be the best solution,” Flege said. “If EU regulations mean that German legislators cannot completely exclude noisy wagons from the German rail network, the transport ministry should include other measures to effectively deter noisy freight wagons without having slow trains congesting the system.” One idea would be to impose a noticeable levy on top of track access charges for the option of operating a slow freight train, taking into account the extra work required for drawing up the timetable, suggested the Pro-Rail Alliance manager. “At the same time, the German government should strive for an EU-wide ban on noisy freight train wagons after 2020, doing away with the need for complicated national exemption rules.”
Share on:
