Transport sector unrest is being caused by the planning of the budget for the coming year. Two associations – the German Transport Forum (DVF) and the Freight Railways – are sounding the alarm: Without additional funds and structural reforms, freight transport on its own infrastructure threatens to fail. The investment backlog in rail, road, and inland waterways has long since become a growth risk.
Transport bottleneck
Despite repeated political commitments, the expansion of the rail network in Germany has largely stalled, criticize the Freight Railways. In the past five years, only 203.7 kilometers of new tracks have been opened and 224.1 kilometers electrified. Germany risks falling into a structural bottleneck trap that is increasingly burdening industry and logistics, the association fears.
The Freight Railways cite a report from the Federal Ministry of Transport that puts the investment need for already decided railway projects at over 242 billion euros. In the draft budget for 2026, however, only 1.8 billion euros are planned. According to the industry association, that is not even remotely enough to close the modernization and expansion backlog.
“For freight transport we urgently need significantly more capacity to reliably supply industry and trade and to be able to drive future growth,” says managing director Neele Wesseln.
According to a forecast by the minister, rail transport volume will increase by 35 percent by 2040. If the expansion is not prioritized by then, Germany must accept "millions of additional trucks on already congested and often dilapidated roads."
Criticism of the draft budget
The German Transport Forum also sees substantial need for improvement. Executive spokesperson Dr. Florian Eck calls on the Budget Committee to make substantial changes to the transport budget at the upcoming consolidation session.
According to Eck, more than 250 billion euros must be invested in roads, rail, and waterways by 2030, i.e., around 42 billion euros annually. The current budget draft, however, only outlines 33.5 billion euros, of which 22.8 billion euros come from the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality as well as the defense budget. The core budget for transport falls to 11.1 billion euros.
“Through the shrinking of the core budget, the transport sector loses investment power and room for maneuver,” Eck warns.
Particularly critical is the lack of carryover of funds in the Special Fund. Unspent money expires at year-end instead of being carried over to the following year. This hinders flexible and needs-based planning. Eck therefore calls for binding financing agreements and funds to secure investments in
the long term.
Call for structural reform
Both associations see the federal government as responsible for fundamentally reforming financing and planning structures. According to the Freight Railways, all central planning instruments – Deutschlandtakt, Bedarfsplan, and Infraplan – must henceforth be coordinated and fully financed in a decree. Only then can the expansion be reliably pushed ahead.
The DVF calls for renovation and new construction to proceed in parallel to safeguard the resilience of the infrastructure. One-sided prioritization would be counterproductive. Dilapidated bridges, locks, and rails must be urgently repaired just as new capacity must be created. Both organizations warn that the special funds for climate protection must not crowd out the regular expansion of transport infrastructure.
Priority for freight transport
The Freight Railways demand that the federal government realign its expansion priorities. Instead of expensive high-speed lines, investments should be directed more toward projects with direct benefits for freight transport – for example additional tracks, switches, overhead lines, and loading points. In addition, the renovation of the existing network must be financed from the Special Fund to keep the funds from the regular budget available for expansion.
The DVF adds that the continuation of track-price subsidies for rail long-distance traffic, the announced reduction of the aviation tax,
and the further development of digital test fields for all transport modes in the budget must also be safeguarded. A modernization pact for public transport has not yet been planned.
Consequences for the industry
The budget decisions are thus likely to affect freight transport very directly. For without more capacity on the rail, shipments shift further to the road. That is likely to lead to higher costs, longer delivery times, and greater strain on the infrastructure. The climate targets would thus be out of reach.
The DVF and the Freight Railways point out that other European countries are progressing faster with clearer financing models. In Switzerland and Austria, projects would be decided only when their financing is fully secured. In Germany, by contrast, binding commitments are lacking, which regularly leads to delays.
Turning point for freight transport
If the investment gaps persist, German freight transport is at risk of failing due to the infrastructure. Wesseln and Eck warn in unison that transport policy must now set the course—for planning certainty, capacity, and competitiveness.
The appeal of both associations is directed at politics and business alike: Without a financial and organizational restructuring, the transport network of the future risks becoming the bottleneck for growth, supply security, and climate
