Planned track access charge increase is an imposition

Markus Krämer, CEO of HGK Logistics and Intermodal, expresses his concern about the planned price increases and emphasizes the negative consequences for the German economy: "The planned increase is an imposition and poison for the German economy and the climate transition. It jeopardizes climate-friendly logistics that rely on intermodality. Track access charges must fall instead of rising."

Road transportation consumes eight times as much CO2 as the more climate-friendly rail freight transport. Only around a fifth of freight transport in Germany is currently carried by rail. The German government wants to increase this share to 25 percent by 2030. "If the federal government wants climate-friendly logistics, it must ensure that track prices fall and that the rail infrastructure in Germany becomes more reliable," says Krämer. He continues: "Industry and business associations as well as economic and climate experts should take a clear stance against the planned increase. The German government must make it clear that it is taking transport policy and climate protection seriously!"

In recent years, the paper industry has successfully shifted transportation from road to rail in order to reduce CO2 emissions. However, the upcoming price increase could reverse this trend and lead to a shift back to road transportation. This would not only contradict climate targets, but would also further weaken the competitiveness of the German pulp and paper industry, which is already suffering from high energy costs.

In the paper segment, HGK Logistics and Intermodal handles an annual volume of 1.3 million tons for the major paper manufacturers in the market at its locations in Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden and Cologne.