German cabinet adopts 2027 budget draft with EUR 33.7bn for transport

The Transport Ministry expects almost EUR 640 million more than in the earlier financial plan; maintenance of waterways is to be paid from the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality from 2027. The industry association VDV and the regional rail association BSN criticise cuts to rail freight support instruments (track-access subsidy down EUR 65 million) and the shifting of funds from the core budget into the special fund and the defence budget.

The federal cabinet adopted the draft 2027 budget on 6 July 2026; the Federal Transport Ministry cites transport investment of about EUR 33.7 billion for 2027 (rail 20.8, federal trunk roads about 11.3, waterways 1.7 billion) and about EUR 170 billion for the 2025–29 legislative term. According to the regional rail association BSN, the ministry's core budget falls to EUR 26.4 billion and funds for the rail needs plan rise to EUR 2.2 billion, while the station improvement initiative (over EUR 100 million) is dropped, EUR 681 million of construction grants move to the defence budget and the cap on regional rail track-access charges lapses, leading to back payments of about EUR 800 million for 2025 and 2026. The VDV complains of cuts in rail freight: track-access subsidy down EUR 65 million, combined transport down 17 million, private sidings down 10 million, single-wagonload traffic down 25 million and support for the long-distance freight network down 20 million. (LOK Report, 6 Jul and 7 Jul 2026; second source: transport-online.de, 7 Jul 2026)