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Freight Transport and Logistics Masterplan
The Federal Government's Freight Transport and Logistics Masterplan is a strategic approach containing concrete measures for the future direction of freight transport.
Traffic forecasts show that there will be a dramatic rise in freight traffic levels
A modern industrial and service economy based on the division of labour and a successful business location cannot function without an efficient transport system. Current studies forecast a growth in tonne kilometres of around 70 percent between 2004 and 2025. Closely linked with this growth are environmental and climate change challenges. Today, already, transport is responsible for around 20 percent of CO 2 emissions and accounts for around 70 percent of total petroleum consumption.
The Masterplan sets the course for the future of freight transport
The Federal Government has responded to these challenges by publishing the Freight Transport and Logistics Masterplan. It describes the strategic transport policy direction and the key elements of the future course of action which are to be used to ensure the provision of efficient infrastructure and, at the same time, to reduce the amount of energy consumed by vehicles and make transport more efficient, cleaner and quieter.
The Masterplan contains 35 concrete measures. They are described in detail with regard to the issues they involve, the shape they are to take, responsibilities, costs and impacts, and are provided with timescales. The measures are subsumed under six objectives:
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Making optimum use of transport infrastructure - shaping transport to make it more efficient
The aim is to enhance the capacity of the overall transport system. Optimum use is to be made of existing transport infrastructure and the transport system is to be made more efficient. Measures to tackle congestion will be intensified and continued. In concrete terms, this means: road works management will be optimized, traffic management systems will be linked up and the provision of necessary parking areas for HGVs on motorways will be accelerated. -
Reducing the number of journeys - ensuring mobility
The aim is to improve transport chains, for instance by optimizing transit traffic. Developing the European networks or making greater use of short-sea shipping can help to achieve this aim. An initiative for better logistics in urban areas is designed to make freight transport in towns and cities more efficient, thereby enhancing the quality of life in conurbations. -
Transferring more traffic to the railways and inland waterways
Greater use is to be made of environmentally friendly modes of transport, such as the railways and inland waterways, for freight transport. To this end, the funding for combined transport will be increased from 62.5 million to 115 million euros per annum. A support programme is to provide financial assistance to innovative handling technologies in combined transport. A strategy will be developed to take account of the European discussion on the internalization of all external costs (e.g. for air pollution, climate change, noise or congestion). This will produce greater transparency regarding the nature and level of the costs to the economy of the individual modes of transport. -
Upgrading more transport arteries and hubs
Despite all the efforts to enhance efficiency, there are still bottlenecks in the transport infrastructure. For this reason, transport arteries and hubs are to be upgraded. This means a segregation of passenger and freight services by reducing pathing conflicts on the railways and by taking targeted action to remove bottlenecks on the railways and roads. This will require a higher level of transport investment, and this is reflected in the 2009 budget estimates and the Federal Government's medium-term financial planning. -
Environmentally friendly, climate-friendly, quiet and safe transport
Alongside noise mitigation on the railways, the focus is on tightening environmental and safety standards in order to reduce noise and pollutant emissions and the risk of accidents and on shifting traffic to more environmentally friendly modes of transport. In addition, a strategy is to be developed for varying tolls according to the route driven and the time of day. Such a strategy would make it possible to charge a higher toll on busy sections of motorway at certain times of day, while reducing the toll at other times of day. -
Good working conditions and good training in the freight transport industry
The conditions of working and training in the freight transport industry are to be improved. This includes a training initiative and regular monitoring of the working conditions in the freight transport and logistics sector, plus ensuring that sufficient checks are carried out to enforce compliance with social legislation in the road haulage sector.
Further measures to make Germany a more attractive place for logistics companies
In addition, a network for freight transport and logistics will be established, a marketing strategy to promote Germany as a logistics centre will be implemented, and a security strategy for the freight transport sector will be developed.
All measures in the Masterplan are based on the principle of sustainability. They aim to ensure economic efficiency, environmental friendliness and social responsibility.
The Masterplan is the result of two years of discussions
The Masterplan was preceded by a two-year process of discussion, planned and controlled by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development and with the active involvement of over 700 experts from industry, unions, government, trade associations and environmentalist groups and from academia. They contributed numerous suggestions and ideas, which were addressed not only to the Federal Government but also to other players in this field. The results of this cooperation form the core of this Masterplan. The stakeholders also intend to continue their successful cooperation during implementation of the measures by forming a network for freight transport and logistics.
