THE FREIGHT RAILWAYS continue to grow: now over 100 members

At their general meeting in Leipzig, THE FREIGHT RAILWAYS reaffirm their goal to increase the market share of rail in accordance with the traffic light coalition agreement to at least 25 percent by 2030. They also believe that an increase to 35 percent by 2035 is achievable. At the same time, they emphasize that this ramp-up of rail transport is not a one-way street but requires political measures.

(Berlin/Leipzig) At the semi-annual meeting of the FREIGHT RAILWAYS, the joy that the market share of rail in freight transport has now exceeded 20 percent is met with frustration over a lack of political support. “With one-fifth of the traffic, we are clearly below the potential we have. For our transport minister, who is presumably plagued by climate target nightmares, this figure cannot be explainable. This alone shows how much the latest long-term traffic forecast contradicts market development and, of course, the transport policy goals of shifting traffic,” summarizes Ludolf Kerkeling, Chairman of the Board of the FREIGHT RAILWAYS, the current situation in rail freight transport. Instead, his appeal is: “Mr. Minister, give rail a chance to prove itself!”

THE FREIGHT RAILWAYS are growing even faster than the market. Yesterday, three new member companies were welcomed, bringing the total number of members to 101 – a record! LWC Lappwaldbahn Cargo GmbH, ecco-rail GmbH, and ERR European Rail Rent GmbH will benefit from the network and political work of the association and strengthen it at the same time. The number of members has doubled in the past five years.

In the regular board elections, the previous chairman Ludolf Kerkeling, co-chair Sven Flore, and board members Gerhard Timpel, Thomas Knechtel, and Thilo Beuven were unanimously re-elected. There are also personnel changes in the management: Neele Wesseln, previously deputy managing director, is moving up to the forefront and will become the second managing director of the growing association alongside Peter Westenberger.

A concern these days remains the collective bargaining negotiations between EVG and DB AG. Ludolf Kerkeling called on the EVG, on behalf of the FREIGHT RAILWAYS, to ensure that companies not involved in the wage conflict can continue their operations as usual during a strike. “A strike at a television station cannot lead to the complete shutdown of television broadcasting,” Kerkeling stated.

In the run-up to the coalition committee meeting, Ludolf Kerkeling called for more speed for rail on behalf of all FREIGHT RAILWAYS. He pointed out that 98 days have passed since the results of the acceleration commission for rail were handed over to the transport minister on December 13 – the same amount of time the commission had to compile its proposals. “Paper is patient – apparently, so is the transport minister. The members are puzzled as to why the painstakingly developed measures by experts are not being implemented.”

On the eve of the general meeting, a smaller gathering took place. Detlef Müller, deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group and particularly connected to the industry as a trained locomotive driver, answered the members’ questions on Monday evening. Also present at the meeting were green budget politician Dr. Paula Piechotta, MdB, and Thorsten Dieter, coordinator for rail freight transport at DB Netz AG.

Photo: © THE FREIGHT RAILWAYS / Caption: Festive cutting of the logo cake “100”: Peter Westenberger (THE FREIGHT RAILWAYS), Tiberiu Buzás (ERR European Rail Rent GmbH), Frederic Neukirchen (ecco-rail GmbH), and Ludolf Kerkeling (THE FREIGHT RAILWAYS)