Federal and state governments ease transport rules during Rhine low water

Several states relax the Sunday and public-holiday lorry ban, suspending the indivisible-load rule is being examined for heavy transports up to 44 tonnes, DB InfraGO provides additional freight train paths on the Rhine-parallel axis, and federally funded combined-transport terminals operate under relaxed conditions until 30 September 2026, so that bulk goods, for example, can also be handled.

After the summit in Bonn on 6 August 2026, the federal government and the states agreed on 12 August 2026 on further short-term measures to protect supply chains and production at historically low water levels. Several states have relaxed the lorry ban on Sundays and public holidays, the Autobahn GmbH coordinates roadworks in favour of diversion traffic, and DB InfraGO provides a special coordinator and extra train paths on the Rhine axis. The Waterways and Shipping Directorate-General set up a crisis team for the alternative route via the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the western German canal network. In the medium and long term the federal government is pushing ahead with the draught optimisation on the Middle Rhine, which since July 2026 has been of overriding public interest under the Infrastructure Future Act, is providing EUR 750 million for the expansion of the Danube and wants to continue the programme for low-water-optimised vessels, the funding of which it intends to bring into the 2027 budget talks. (LOK Report, 7 Aug and 13 Aug 2026)