Rhine-Alpine News
07.03.2025
German Federal Transport Minister calls for infrastructure package
Symbolic picture by Bru nO on Pixabay
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing has called for billions in additional funding for rail and road infrastructure to avoid further traffic gridlock. The CDU/CSU and SPD aim to create a historic financial package for defense and infrastructure, including relaxation of the debt brake for defence spending and a special fund of 500 billion euros for infrastructure repairs.
The fund will cover civil protection, population protection, transport infrastructure, hospital investments, energy infrastructure, education, care, science infrastructure, research and development, and digitisation. From 2025 to 2029, 25 billion euros will be needed for federal motorways. Bavaria’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter welcomes the plans and believes the funds should be available for all modes of transport and their specific financing needs.
Source(in German):
Kickoff event 20th of March “Sustainable Rhine Navigation 2030” in NRW
Invitation by MUNV of North Rhine-Westphalia
North-Rhine Westphalia’s Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport (MUNV) hosted the Rhine Conference on 5 September 2024, together with around 90 partners from the public and private sectors, where they signed a joint declaration of intent. The implementation begins with the kick-off event on 20 March 2025 in the atrium of the MUNV.
The goal of this declaration of intent is to develop a ‘Sustainable Rhine Navigation 2030’ perspective with the aim of supporting climate-friendly, reliable and competitive Rhine navigation, and shifting more transport to the waterway.
According to the agreement, the development should be completed by 31 December 2025 at the latest. The declaration of intent provides for the measures to be developed in three working groups on the topics of ports, propulsion and fleet, corridor development, and logistics chains.
Swiss Federal Transport Office adapting safety monitoring to technical development
Symbolic picture by DmitrySteshenko on Pixabay
The Swiss Federal Transport Office (BAV) is focusing on the human and organizational factors approach to ensure safety in public transport. As automation and digitalisation change daily work, it is important to analyze the interactions between people, technology, and organizations.
BAV is increasingly integrating human and organizational factors into its supervisory and monitoring activities. The HOF principle (Human and Organisational Factors) aims to optimize interactions between people, technology, and organisations to minimize risks and increase efficiency.
It focuses on clear warnings in critical situations, task distribution between humans and machines, early error detection, and ensuring train drivers maintain their manual skills.
The HOF principle is implemented through training, safety measures, and a safety culture. The European Railway Agency (ERA) and the Public Transport Association (VöV) are addressing the HOF principle and integrating it into their safety management systems.
Source(in German, Italian and French):