How can rail transport support the shift to sustainable mobility – and what are the obstacles to rapid development? We spoke to Matthias Hartwig, Head of the Mobility department, about necessary investments, the reactivation of disused tracks and his wishes for the future of rail transport.
What significance does rail transport have for climate protection?
Rail transport should play a central role in the transport transition. It offers a much more climate-friendly alternative to cars and airplanes – for both passenger and freight transport. If we take our climate targets seriously, more traffic must be shifted to rail. However, rising traffic coupled with an increasing need for renewal clearly shows the limits of the theoretically high potential of rail transport for climate protection. This potential can only be realized if there is a high willingness to invest.
What are the biggest challenges at the moment?
Rail can only be an attractive alternative if it is reliable, comprehensive and efficient. This presupposes that service, frequency and punctuality are improved. The implementation of the “Deutschlandtakt” is an important step here – but at the same time this project is reaching the limits of the existing infrastructure. It is also often overlooked that the energy and transport transition itself presents the railroads with new challenges. For example, coal and cars are traditionally of great importance as transportation goods for rail freight transport. With the decline of these transportation markets, many players in this sector are having to reorient themselves.
Where do these capacity bottlenecks come from?
Although transport policy had focused on the roads, rail transport has increased significantly in recent years: between 2013 and 2023, rail freight transport in Germany increased by around 20% and passenger transport by around 16%. At the same time, the infrastructure was neglected for a long time and numerous lines were shut down. These failures are now taking their toll, as the current infrastructure in many places is not prepared for further growth.
The federal government is now providing additional funds. Where should they be used?
It is important that investments are not only made in individual large-scale projects. Of course, new high-speed lines can make sense – but the key is to upgrade the network across the board and strengthen rural areas. The reactivation of disused lines can also be a pragmatic and effective approach to creating additional capacity. We are also working on this in our new ReBa project.
What is this project about?
There is currently a lack of sidings and train formation tracks in many places – a bottleneck that affects the entire system and freight traffic in particular. In the project, we analyze where there is a need, which facilities can be reactivated and which legal, planning and financial framework conditions apply. The aim of the project is to provide politicians and railroad companies with a basis for making decisions on the reactivation of infrastructure. We see this as a suitable measure to strengthen rail freight transport in a targeted manner.
Where else do you see a need for action in the rail sector?
As everywhere, digitalization is also a key issue: modern train control systems such as the European Train Control System (ETCS) can increase the capacity of the network and improve safety at the same time. I also see great potential in the area of timetable and operational planning.
Another critical point is cross-border traffic. Differing technical standards, e.g. for electricity systems or safety technology, make it difficult for international rail traffic to run smoothly. Greater European harmonization has long been called for here and has already been the subject of numerous research projects – for example our Streamline project to streamline approval procedures. In the interests of European integration, something must finally change here.
What do you personally want for the future of rail transport?
I hope that rail travel will become a matter of course for people in the future – whether in the city or in the countryside. At the same time, rail freight transport must be supported in its transformation in order to replace cars, ore and coal with new goods. To achieve this, we need a reliable, user-friendly, easily accessible and comprehensive service. If this is successful, much will be gained for climate protection.
