Eastern states feel they are at a disadvantage—federal government rejects criticism

Kretschmer: Criticism from Neighboring Countries

Kretschmer sees it similarly. “Not a single meeting with Poland or the Czech Republic goes by without them saying over and over again: We have international treaties, we’ve committed to this, we’ve built it,” he said. When it comes to infrastructure, “you Germans can’t really be relied upon anymore.” The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and the SPD states that key parts of the transportation infrastructure to Poland and the Czech Republic would be rapidly expanded.

Federal Ministry of Transport: No Discrimination

The Ministry of Transport, led by Patrick Schnieder (CDU), rejected the accusation of discrimination. A spokesperson pointed to projects such as the Dresden-Prague line and the Central Germany connection between North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, but also to a lack of funding for new construction and expansion.

Woidke does not accept this and cites the federal government’s billion-euro package. The ministry explains that the special fund can “only” be used to pay for the renovation of tracks and bridges. And: “In general, there is no preferential treatment or discrimination against individual federal states or regions.”

And the Ostbahn? According to the ministry, it is listed as a “potential need” in the requirements plan for federal railways. “To date, insufficient demand in long-distance passenger and freight rail transport has been demonstrated to justify upgrading it to the ‘urgent need’ category.”

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