NGOs call for renewed clean transport focus as Merz replaces transport minister

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced that conservative lawmaker Steffen Bilger will replace transport minister Patrick Schnieder as part of a wider cabinet reshuffle. 

The change at the helm of the transport ministry is an “opportunity for a change of course” for the government’s policy in the sector, said Martin Kaiser, head of environmental NGO Greenpeace. However, for a fresh start, the government would have to focus on the transition: “Alongside the electrification of transport and its competitiveness on global markets, the top priority must be the maintenance, expansion and reliability of [railway company] Deutsche Bahn,” he said.

The chancellor replaced Schnieder as part of a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of conservative parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn amid a surrogacy controversy. During a press conference, Merz thanked Schnieder for his work, and declined to publicly comment on the reasons for replacing him. Merz is seeking to inject momentum into his unpopular ​coalition ​government, sources told news agency Reuters. 

After years of foot-dragging under previous governments, Germany’s mobility sector is lagging far behind in the country’s landmark energy transition. The mobility sector is one of the biggest challenges for German climate policy, as transport emissions have remained almost unchanged since the 1990s.

The railway system remains a particular challenge. Germany’s plans to make its transport sector more climate-friendly involve increasing train use, but the poor performance of the railways makes this a distant prospect. The Court of Auditors last year said that Germany’s railway lacks a strategy to escape its “permanent crisis.” 

The government has introduced a debt-financed special fund worth 500 billion euros for a wide range of infrastructure and climate neutrality projects over the next decade, including upgrades to the railway system.

Sustainable mobility group VCD called on Bilger to focus on repairing the country’s “crumbling infrastructure,” especially the railway system. “Renovation work must continue at full speed, and the electrification and expansion of the network must finally go ahead,” said VCD head Christiane Rohleder. “To this end, the federal government must provide the necessary funding – in a way that is predictable and reliable.”

Bilger, a Bundestag lawmaker from the southern German car industry heartland Baden-Württemberg, was parliamentary state secretary in the transport ministry from 2018 to 2021, and before that a member of the parliament transport committee. 

“Steffen Bilger is, in professional terms, the right person to run this department very effectively,” said Merz. “He won’t work miracles either, but he will manage it well from day one.” The chancellor added that he wants Bilger “to make the most of the opportunities offered by the investment programme funded from our special fund,” which included mobilising more private capital. The investments in the infrastructure had to happen fast, and show that taking on significant debt is justified, he said. The new minister will officially be sworn in on 9 September, after the parliamentary summer break, the chancellor said. 

Dirk Flege, managing director of lobby group Pro Rail Alliance, welcomed that Bilger is an experienced transport politician, Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ) reported. “Steffen Bilger must now prove that he can pick up the pace on the transport transition,” he said.

In his relatively short time in office, outgoing minister Schnieder was not able to leave a significant mark on transport. In September last year, he presented a long-awaited strategy to improve the country’s railway system, but changes will take years to make a meaningful impact. 

“Not only, but particularly within Deutsche Bahn, important and far-reaching decisions are due to be taken in the near future, and these cannot be put off,” the outgoing minister said in a statement. Schnieder had been responsible for the country’s transport system since the start of the coalition government’s term in May last year.