According to a new forecast by the Ministry of Transport, freight traffic in Germany will increase significantly by the middle of the decade – especially on the road. The truck remains the dominant means of transport in the goods sector, said Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) on Friday in Berlin. Against this background, he reiterated his demand for faster construction of motorways as well.
According to the forecast commissioned by the ministry, freight transport will increase by almost half by 2051 compared to 2019. Growth of 54 percent is expected for road, and freight traffic by rail will increase by a third. According to the forecast, passenger traffic will increase by 13 percent. Strong growth is expected for rail, air and bicycle traffic. Road traffic will only increase slightly. Nevertheless, the car remains by far the most important means of transport.
“The results show impressively that we cannot achieve our goals of demand-based transport by expanding rail and waterways alone,” said Wissing. “We need an efficient and climate-neutral road mode of transport.” Accelerated planning is also urgently needed for the road. Bottlenecks that caused traffic jams would have to be eliminated. These caused considerable economic damage.
A fierce argument has been smoldering in the traffic light coalition for weeks about priority in accelerating planning processes. Wissing not only wants to have bridges built faster, but also motorways – but the Greens reject that. In view of the planned climate protection goals, they insist on priority for rail.
