However, there are two things that are often underestimated in political and public discourse: First, the great importance of rail freight transport for industrial value creation in Germany. Second, just how incredibly daunting the challenges are that must be overcome if rail is to account for 25 percent of freight traffic by 2030.

For many transport tasks, rail is already the top choice today:

• It is unrivaled in its efficiency when it comes to transporting large volumes and heavy goods over long distances.
• It can also leverage its strengths in the inland transport of the millions upon millions of containers that arrive at European seaports by ship each year as imports and depart as exports.
• The extensive system of single-car transport is the backbone of many key German industries and a unique selling point of our industrial location; single-car transport allows customers to ship not only entire trains but also individual cars.
• Rail is an attractive option for hazardous materials due to its high level of safety.
• Rail transport is climate-friendly and enables significant reductions in CO2 emissions in logistics processes.

Greatest Growth Potential in Intermodal Transport

A special and rapidly growing form of rail freight transport takes place within the framework of so-called “intermodal” transport. These are transport chains in which cargo must be transferred from rail to truck because either the shipper, the consignee, or both do not have their own railway. The number of access points to the German rail network clearly illustrates how many shippers and recipients this affects: there are around 2,000 access points to the rail network, while at the same time there are more than 700,000 manufacturing companies nationwide.

However, transferring goods from one mode of transport to another costs time, manpower, and efficiency; ties up resources; and makes the transport process as a whole more vulnerable to disruptions. Compared to purely road-based transport, rail generally offers significantly less flexibility, predictability, and speed. All of this combined still makes intermodal transport unattractive for a great many transport tasks today. At the same time, however, the greatest growth potential in the rail sector lies precisely in the area of intermodal transport—more specifically, in the “combined transport” segment, which is defined by the use of at least two different modes of transport.

What must policymakers do?

To promote rail freight transport, policymakers must create the necessary framework conditions. The goal must be to enable the rail sector to…

• make better use of rail’s strengths,
• to stand out in terms of quality and reliability, and
• expand its portfolio of capabilities (in terms of greater flexibility and a shift toward time-sensitive, lighter goods and cargo).

This requires massive public investment, particularly in the expansion and modernization of the network, including terminal infrastructure. System capacity must be expanded, innovations brought to market, customer focus and digitalization advanced, and efficiency gains realized—for example, in loading, transshipment, and unloading. Combined transport processes must become significantly more competitive compared to truck-only transport. Single-car transport must be secured and strengthened. Administrative procedures for the construction of rail sidings must also be simplified.

The challenges are enormous and diverse. The federal government, the railway sector, and the shipping industry have jointly outlined how these challenges can be overcome in the master plans developed in 2017 and 2021. BDI contributed to these plans.

Satisfied customers are a hallmark of rail as a mode of transport

The greatest challenge of the coming decade will be to structure the expansion and modernization of the network in such a way that they go hand in hand with operations that are as smooth and reliable as possible. Rail freight transport must not be slowed down by construction-related restrictions. Nothing diminishes rail’s appeal to potential new customers more than disappointed customers. To address this, the mammoth task of infrastructure expansion must be closely coordinated with the railway sector and shippers.

The shift to rail will only succeed if the rail system becomes more attractive and customers have an incentive to switch. After all, companies depend on quality, reliability, and efficiency in their logistics processes.

Publication, BDI, Logistics Requirements of the Shipping Industry, August 2021