Federal government presents “Infraplan 2026” to modernize the rail network

Berlin. The federal government wants to modernize the rail infrastructure in Germany and make it more reliable with a new overall concept. On Tuesday in Berlin, the Federal Ministry of Transport presented the Infraplan 2026, which for the first time brings together the key measures for the development of the rail network for the years 2026 to 2030.

The plan is the first concrete implementation step of a new, three-part overall infrastructure concept, which ranges from long-term goals to implementation in the next five years.

“I travel a lot by train myself and know that what ultimately matters to people is whether the train runs reliably,” said Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Ulrich Lange. “This is exactly what our infrastructure policy must be measured against.” With the Infraplan, the government is no longer just looking at individual rail projects, but at the entire network.

The problems arose over many years, said the CSU politician. The federal government is now setting goals and priorities that the responsible infrastructure subsidiary of the railway, DB InfraGO, is implementing. There is also more transparency as to how implementation is progressing.

DB-InfraGO boss Philipp Nagl described the plan as an important step towards a more reliable and efficient rail infrastructure. “Clear priorities create the basis for effective planning and implementation.”

The overall concept based on the Austrian model consists of a master strategy for regular traffic, a target network for 2035 derived from it and the infraplan as a concrete implementation path. This includes measures such as new construction and expansion, electrification, corridor renovations and noise reduction.

However, the Infraplan 2026 is not a financing plan. The implementation of the measures contained therein is subject to the budget resources available in the respective years. At the same time, the federal government is working on anchoring the overall concept in law and linking it to a railway infrastructure fund in the future. This should make planning and financing more reliable in the long term. The infraplan is to be updated and developed annually in the future.