Germany's shift to rail freight stagnates

Germany has made scant progress over recent years in its bid to shift more freight transport off the roads and onto rail, according to a report released on Friday.

In 2023, the share of rail freight in total goods transport even dipped slightly to just under 20%, down 0.3 percentage points on 2022, the Monopolies Commission found in its latest sector report.

"A shift to rail can therefore only be observed to a small extent," the report said.

It also noted an overall decline in the movement of goods last year, not only on the railways, attributing this mainly to cyclical reductions in demand and cost increases.

The previous German government of Olaf Scholz set itself the goal of transporting around a quarter of all goods by rail - considered to be more energy efficient and sustainable - by 2030.

However, the new conservative-led coalition government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which took office in May, no longer maintains that target.

"Rail's share of total transport performance falls short of political expectations," wrote the authors of the sector report. "The positive competitive developments of recent years are stagnating."

The Monopolies Commission called on the new government to formulate clear political objectives with regard to the railways.

It should also monitor more closely how Germany's state-owned Deutsche Bahn (DB) railway network uses the billions of euros it is expected to receive from a planned special fund for infrastructure.

"Otherwise, there is a risk that the funds will be used where they strengthen the competitive position of DB's own transport companies," the report said.

An independent monitoring body with proven expertise was needed to ensure that the funds end up where they bring the greatest economic benefit, the authors added.