Encouraging a shift from road to rail transport is crucial for the decarbonisation of the transport sector. There are two reasons why: First, as trains require much less energy than road vehicles to transport people and goods, a shift from road to rail will enable reductions in energy use. Second, as electric trains are already widespead and can be powered with green electricity, increasing rail use will make it easier to cover residual energy demand in the transport sector with carbon-neutral fuels.
While strengthening rail transport has long been a policy goal, the share of rail in passenger and freight transport has failed to increase. Against this backdrop, Agora Verkehrswende asked KCW GmbH to analyse the feasability and effectiveness of potential measures to strengthen rail transport and to develop policy recommendations for the 19th legislative period of the German Bundestag.
