Laws for accelerating transport projects

Important transport projects in Germany will be able to be planned and implemented more quickly in the future. This is the aim of another acceleration law which the Bundestag and Bundesrat adopted at the beginning of 2020. Among other things, it is intended to facilitate the elimination of level crossings, which slow down both trains and cars. To this end, municipalities are to be relieved of the costs of bridges or tunnels being built in their place. For replacement constructions – above all bridges and platforms – the law provides even more options to waive approval procedures.

In addition, a so-called Measures Law Preparation Act stipulates that for eight selected rail projects, the Bundestag instead of Federal agencies will be able to directly grant construction permits in the future.