BERLIN (CN) — From the collapse of one of Dresden’s most important bridges in 2024 to a yawning crack recently forcing one of Berlin’s vital ring highways to shut for years of repair, much of Germany’s infrastructure is literally crumbling.
Though he has yet to take office, likely chancellor Friedrich Merz has made repairing the country’s ailing infrastructure a priority, creating a €500 billion ($546 billion) special fund for infrastructure with the outgoing parliament.
Merz is hoping to address a problem that has been compounding for years and has grown impossible to ignore. According to the German Institute of Urban Affairs’ Christian Raffer, German public investment as a share of GDP has been stagnant for decades, and is less than half of what it was in the 1970s.
“Over the last 20 years, there’s been more depreciation in public infrastructure than new investment at the local level,” Raffer told Courthouse News.
The lack of spending is palpable in daily life. In education, Germany has slid down international rankings to 14th in Europe; Berlin’s public pools will no longer be heated due to budget cuts. One in four Germans lack access to public transit, while the country’s once famously punctual national rail carrier had to shell out nearly €200 million in compensation for delays last year alone.
“Whenever I travel to my grandparents, which is two or three times a year, there’s an issue with the train to Berlin at least half the time,” said Yannick, a web developer in Berlin. A journey to northern Germany that would typically take two hours is frequently delayed by at least an hour, though he believes the national rail carrier has improved at accounting for its frequent delays.
“The service has gotten better as far as notifying you when a train isn’t arriving on time, and you can use the app to find an alternative train while traveling. At least somebody around our age is able to deal with it, I’m assuming it would be tougher for my grandparents,” he continued.
For commuters, the delays are more than an occasional annoyance.
“I feel like every time I go anywhere with Germany’s national rail carrier, there’s always some kind of massive delay,” said Jeremy, a Berlin-based opera singer who frequently has recitals and auditions around the country.
“It’s just so stressful. I have contract engagements in Dresden or Leipzig or wherever, and honestly I would rather just stay in Berlin. I’ve gotten to the point where I have to ask myself if I want to take these opportunities, because that means relying on the trains,” he said.
Though Raffer argues that not all of Germany’s infrastructure suffers and that disinvestment is uneven across sectors and regions, he says a number of factors have contributed to lagging development.
“Outside of investment, there’s also a lack of capacity in the construction sector. Germany is facing a demographic shift with baby boomers retiring on a large scale, and there aren’t enough young people filling positions. Public administration and planning especially have a massive problem finding qualified staff,” he said.
This hasn’t just served to frustrate commuters and exacerbate educational inequality, it’s intensified Germany’s economic slowdown. Germany’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has named functional infrastructure as key to ending the nation’s economic crisis and “realize its full potential.” Germany’s green energy transition, key to jumpstarting a series of intertwined industries, is expected to cost over €1 trillion in the next decade, according to the German government.
Smart spending key
Germany’s infamous Stuttgart 21 train station and Berlin international airport, both marred by delays and cost overruns, indicate that simply throwing money at infrastructure projects isn’t enough. Addressing Germany’s broken bureaucracy could help the money go further.
“We have highly complex regulation in Germany in terms of construction and procurement law, this is a real obstacle,” said Raffer. “From our own survey research, we know that complexity in these two fields leads to roughly 60% of local governments delaying infrastructure projects for at least one year.”
While the newfound willingness to spend is a welcome shift, there are likely to be fierce battles over just how the €500 billion is invested. Many of those who keep Germany’s beleaguered infrastructure running are skeptical it will reach them.
“I doubt it will really land in our infrastructure projects. Maybe they’ll fix that recently broken bridge in Berlin or something, but I don’t expect much,” said Patrick, who’s been a subway driver in the capital for a decade.
Patrick’s experience demonstrates the other side of the disinvestment coin — Berlin’s frequently late public transit is partly due to a huge strain on its drivers.
“We don’t have enough trains and there’s a serious staffing shortage. Nobody wants to work for such low pay,” he said.
Berlin’s public transit workers are some of the lowest paid in the country and are currently negotiating a new contract with the city.
The bigger question looming over Germany’s commitment to renewal is whether it’s enough in the first place.
“We calculate Germany’s investment backlog at the local level annually, and in 2023 we had a backlog of €168 billion,” said Raffer. “The €100 billion committed to the states will not be enough to even tackle this existing backlog, and we also have high investment demands in terms of the energy transition, mobility and other future needs not entirely calculated in this backlog.”
For now, though, Raffer is looking at the upside of a huge spending influx.
More money is obviously needed, but this €100 billion is already much more than we could have hoped for even a couple months ago, so local governments are at least happy with it,” he said.