The German government is to substantially reduce track access charges (TACs) with the aim to stimulate the rail freight sector. Presenting a Master Plan for the industry, Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Alexander Dobrindt, said a EUR 350 million fund would be included in the 2018 budget to effectively halve track access charges for operators.
Among the key measures are: reducing costs – the Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure says EUR 350 million will be spent on cutting track access charges for operators, who will then have more to spend on innovation; providing a powerful infrastructure – new freight routes being built and existing ones expanded, with additional tracks facilitating the use of longer trains; digitalisation and automation – innovations such as online booking of train paths will increase network capacity, while digital timetables will also speed up operations.
Minister Dobrindt emphasised that the aim was to shift more freight transport to the environmentally-friendly option of rail, to increase the market share of the sector and to strengthen the industry permanently.
Deutsche Bahn, the holding of which DB Cargo is part of, Germany’s principal rail freight operator, says the plan paves the way for raising the potential of transport companies, increasing the railway infrastructure and improving transport policy for freight. Ronald Pofalla, Infrastructure Manager, said: “Germany’s roads are facing a traffic disaster. The noticeable lowering of the track charges will ensure a significant improvement in the competitive position of the freight paths. In addition to the 740-metre network, the expansion of the east corridor and the loosening of bottlenecks in the major nodes will increase the efficiency of the rail network by means of digitalisation.”
Earlier, this May, railway associations called on the German government to halve track access charges in order to make the sector more competitive with road freight.
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