GERMAN Rail (DB) has vowed to continue with all of its planned infrastructure expansion and new development projects.
In a statement released on February 5, DB said that it would not cancel any projects already in the pipeline. Those already under construction will proceed as planned, while those less advanced will continue through the planning stages in the hope that funding will be in place by the time they are construction-ready.
The announcement comes after a turbulent January when Germany’s three-party coalition government slashed the federal rail budget for the next four years and infrastructure manager DB InfraGO reported that network condition had deteriorated year-on-year in 2022.
The German Railway Industry Association (VDB) estimates that there is an immediate shortfall in the rail budget of €17bn between now and 2027. DB calculates that it requires €45bn to fully fund all existing projects over the same period.
DB says that it is in intensive negotiations with the government on how to close the funding gap and that the focus on modernising the existing network will continue, while attempting to avoid extending the timescale for completion or postponing projects altogether.
However, it is unclear how DB will be able to fund projects, particularly those scheduled for 2026-27, if the government refuses or is unable to provide additional funding.
“We stand by our Strong Rail strategy and thus also our expansion and new construction projects,” says DB infrastructure director Mr Berthold Huber. “We have therefore agreed with the federal government that our initial focus will be on renewing and modernising the existing network and stations.”
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) has condemned the current reduction in rail funding as short-sighted. “The reports of a reduction in expansion projects on the German rail network due to cuts in the federal budget are more than worrying,” says VDV president, Mr Ingo Wortmann. “Repairs alone cannot make the network, which has been underfinanced for decades, fit for the future.”
