In the coalition agreement, the federal government promised to invest more money in rail than in road. It has been keeping this promise since 2022 – but the big boost is only coming this year.
In Germany, per capita investment in the rail network rose slightly last year – and the trend is also rising. This was announced by the lobby association Allianz Pro Schiene based on its own evaluation in Berlin. The year 2023 has not yet brought the long-awaited breakthrough, said Andreas Geißler, head of transport policy at Allianz Pro Schiene. In 2023, per capita investment was 115 euros – in 2022 it was 114 euros.
“From the current year 2024, the announcement in the coalition agreement to invest significantly more in rail than in road will be fulfilled,” said Geißler. This was also the case in 2022 and 2023, but the gap between rail investments and road investments will widen in the current year.
The Pro Schiene Alliance has been calculating annual per capita investments in rail infrastructure for Germany and numerous other countries since 2005. Since 2014, there has been a steady increase in investments in Germany. In 2021, per capita investments reached a record high of 124 euros – although this included an increase in equity for Deutsche Bahn. In 2014, per capita investments in rail in Germany were still 49 euros. Last year, the lobby association set a rough target of 150 euros per capita for the next two to three years.
Source: Stern
