E-cars and sleeper trains: How Germany's new government will reform transport

Cars

Germany's pride and joy is its automobile industry, which employs close to a million people. The next government has pledged to support this industry in transitioning to e-mobility while securing its place as a global export powerhouse.

The coalition agreement isn't afraid to go into detail on what it expects to achieve. The Ampel parties want to see 15 million electric cars on the streets by the end of the decade. They've committed to an end to new combustion engines by 2035.

They also pledge “massive” support for charging infrastructure. Specifically the documents sets out an "expansion of the charging point infrastructure with the goal of one million publicly accessible charging points by 2030, with a focus on fast-charging infrastructure."

In terms of old fashioned asphalt, the coalition says it will "focus on the maintenance and rehabilitation of federal roads, with a particular emphasis on engineering structures."

Maintenance of autobahns and bridges will receive a bigger share of the federal budget in the coming years, they say.

There will also be no general speed limit imposed on German motorways.

Some good news for teenagers: they also want to lower the legal driving age to 16, with driving at that age possible under supervision. The intention is to "train young people in the dangers of road traffic at an early stage."

Public transport

The coalition wants to "invest significantly more in rail than in road transport" and will establish sleeper train services that will connect German to destinations in other EU countries. Between the largest cities, trains are to run every half hour in future, and transfer times are to be significantly shortened.

They also commit to having 75 percent of the rail network run on electricity by the end of the decade. 

There is a vague commitment to "supporting innovative rail technologies" while more money will also be given to local governments to "improve the attractiveness and capacity of local public transport with the aim of significantly increasing passenger numbers." 

To bring local transport up to standard, new quality criteria will be drawn up for connections in urban and rural areas, while the federal government will dole out more money to plug gaps in regional transport budgets. 

A regional train travels through Friedrichstadt in Schleswig-Holstein. The traffic light coalition wants to lift standards on regional transport with major investment and national quality criteria. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Molter

The next pledge comes under the category of 'boring but important': all rail services from track repair, to station maintenance to trains will be rolled up into one company. The various state-owned companies that make up Deutsche Bahn have been leaking money at an alarming rate in recent years, making an overhaul all but inevitable.

There is a general commitment to app-based booking and car sharing. They also want to support digital booking across transport companies, while also "funding digital mobility services, innovative mobility solutions and car sharing."

Aviation

The focus here is on decarbonizing the aviation sector. There is a pledge to "ramp-up" support for of synthetic fuels that enable climate-neutral flying. They also promise to lobby the European Union to ensure that airline tickets cannot be sold at a rock-bottom prices.

Bikes

The Green party's manifesto pledge to subsidize cargo bikes has not made it into the agreement.

Instead there is a commitment to "implementing and updating the National Cycling Plan" and to work on "modernization of the bike path network, and promote municipal cycling infrastructure."

The minister

Volker Wissing arrives at negotiations in Belrin on November 11th. Photo: DPA/ Kay Nietfeld

The ministry is going to be led by Free Democrat general Secretary Volker Wissing, who ran the transport ministry in Rhineland-Palatinate until 2018.

Wissing is fairly new on the national scene and something of an unknown quantity. A man of growing influence in his party, he led the early 'traffic light' negotiations for his party.

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The Free Democrats were staunch opponents of a speed limit on the autobahns. They traditionally have the reputation of being a party of men who drive fast cars.

Due to their advocacy of economic liberalism, the FDP are likely to be hesitant about imposing too many government targets on the car industry.