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The German government will announce a package of structural reforms to the country鈥檚 national railway system and state-owned operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) by the end of summer, transport minister Patrick Schnieder in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.

鈥淲e will be investing heavily in infrastructure over the next few years to improve the tracks, the network and the traffic control centres, thereby ensuring less disruption to services,鈥� the minister said. Schnieder said investment would prioritise maintenance over construction of new infrastructure. The renovation of 鈥渉igh-performance corridors鈥� will take precedence since improvements on these heavily used sections of track will improve overall rail reliability 鈥榮ignificantly鈥� Schnieder added.

Germany鈥檚 railway system is in an increasingly bad state. On taking office earlier this year, Friedrich Merz鈥檚 government announced an unprecedented investment package for infrastructure, including rail. DB has laid claims聽to almost one third of the entire聽500-billion-euro infrastructure and climate fund.

DB鈥檚 2025 found that poorer than expected revenues were due to 鈥渄isruption-prone infrastructure, the high number of additional construction sites required and the resulting continued poor punctuality.鈥� Only 63.5 percent of long-distance trains arrived at their destination without significant delays, short of the 65 percent target but an improvement of 0.8 percent on the first half of last year. 鈥淭his must improve without fail,鈥� minister Schnieder told ARD, envisioning to bring punctuality figures up to over 80 percent.

Germany is aiming to shift traffic from road to rail, as well as replace diesel engines with climate-friendly alternatives to reach climate targets. The transport sector has repeatedly missed emission reduction targets and is often referred to as the country's "problem child" when it comes to climate action.