Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003

Aerial view of an autobahn section (Source: Federal Government / Bienert)

The current Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003 represents the Federal Government's investment strategy for transport infrastructure.

Taking into account the annual appropriations of around 10 billion euros, the total level of funding available for the rail, road and waterway modes for the period from 2001 to 2015 is around 150 billion euros. A planning reserve on top of this makes it possible for planning to go ahead on projects where sizeable shares of the funding will not be required until after 2015 but which have to be planned as a whole before that date. It ensures that there is alternative potential construction work that can be performed if the realization of other projects experiences delays.

The basis on which the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan (FTIP) was drawn up was the 2015 Traffic Forecast, which uses models to estimate traffic trends over the period to 2015. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development updates traffic forecasts at regular intervals. The 2025 Traffic Forecast is currently being used to estimate future trends. It served as a basis for the requirement plan review in 2010.

Breakdown of the investment

Around 83 billion euros is earmarked in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003 for the structural maintenance of the existing networks. The share of the total level of investment earmarked for capital maintenance investment has increased from 46 percent in the FTIP 1992 to 56 percent. Around 66 bn euros (excluding the planning reserve) is earmarked for the construction of new and the upgrading of existing federal railway infrastructure, federal trunk roads and federal waterways. The ratio of investment in the old and new federal states – including the planning reserve – is 65 to 35 percent.

The FTIP 2003 follows the guiding policy principle of "development of Eastern Germany and upgrading in Western Germany". One of the main differences compared with the FTIP 1992 is the use of a modernized evaluation methodology. Alongside their evaluation on the basis of updated benefit-cost analysis, all projects have been subjected to an environmental and nature conservation assessment and classified in terms of the ecological risks they pose. In addition, the regional planning significance of the projects has been identified more comprehensively than in the past by means of a spatial impact assessment.

Priorities

The priorities for the inclusion of evaluated projects in the FTIP 2003 are basically a result of the benefit-cost ratio, network design considerations, the status of planning and the level of investment that is likely to be available over the lifetime of the plan. A basic distinction is made between two priority categories: "first priority" and "second priority" projects:

First priority projects

a) Federal railway infrastructure:

• ongoing and definitely planned projects;
• ongoing and definitely planned projects with a special nature conservation planning mandate for the first priority category;
• new projects.

b) Federal trunk roads:

• ongoing and definitely planned projects;
• ongoing and definitely planned projects with a special nature conservation planning mandate for the first priority category;
• new projects;
• new projects with a special nature conservation planning mandate for the first priority category.

c) Federal waterways:

• ongoing and definitely planned projects;
• new projects.

Second priority projects (federal railway infrastructure and federal trunk roads only)

a) Federal railway infrastructure:

• other new projects.

b) Federal trunk roads:

• new projects with planning go-ahead;
• new projects with planning go-ahead and a special nature conservation planning mandate;
• new projects;
• new projects where a high ecological risk has been identified.

c) International projects (federal railway infrastructure only):

• Projects with a significance going beyond the national framework.
  

Road and rail requirement plan acts

The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003 was also the basis for the drafts of

• the First Act amending the Federal Railway Infrastructure Upgrading Act and
• the Fifth Act amending the Federal Trunk Road Upgrading Act

with the requirement plans for federal railway infrastructure and federal trunk roads, which are annexed to the two Acts.

The First Act amending the Federal Railway Infrastructure Upgrading Act entered into force on 22 September 2004 and the Fifth Act amending the Federal Trunk Road Upgrading Act entered into force on 16 October 2004, after both acts had been passed by parliament in July 2004.