According to the 2015 overview that is now at hand, in particular the following new construction projects by the local public transport could receive about 152 million euros of subsidies in the last financial year:
- the U12 city railway line in Stuttgart,
- the Neue Messe (new fair) and Rotteckring city railways in Freiburg,
- the tramline 2 in Ulm,
- the Mannheim Nord (north Mannheim) city railway,
- the Karlsruhe multi-purpose solution traffic project,
- the Heilbronn Nord (north Heilbronn) city railway and
- the development of the sports and fair park in Mannheim.
"My thanks go to the developers for the speedy realization of the traffic projects under construction and to the federal government for the provided financial help within the framework of the municipality traffic financing law. Thanks to the high state subsidies, the federal government subsidies could be released", Minister of Transport Winfried Hermann said.
For investments in the improvement of the traffic conditions of the municipalities, the federal government provides federal government financial assistance to the states according to the municipality traffic financing law (GVFG) amounting to about an annual 333 million euros in total. With the money, public local passenger rail traffic ways in densely populated areas and the corresponding fringe areas can be subsidized with costs eligible for funding of more than 50 million euros. Here, the subsidy rate of the federal government is up to 60 percent of the costs eligible for funding. Besides the federal government part, the investment is cofinanced with a state part amounting to 20 percent of the costs eligible for funding. The remaining 20 percent of the costs as well as the costs not eligible for funding (e.g. planning costs) will be borne by the developers.
As things are now, the GVFG federal government program will formally expire with the end of the year 2019. "We are very worried that it will shortly not be possible to satisfy our high requirement anymore. The lack of clarity is blocking plannings that are urgently necessary", continues Minister Hermann. The current talks about the federal government/federal states financial relationships are supposed to also handle the topic of a succession plan for the municipality traffic financing law (GVFG) federal government program. "However, the planning lead times are relatively long for such great infrastructure projects, which is understandable, and the developers need financing security for their projects. Anyway, nobody can be expected to invest planning funds without ever receiving any prospect of a subsidy. Projects like the Ludwigsburg city railway, the electrification of the Hochrheinbahn (High Rhine railway) and the extension of the interurban train from Filderstadt to Neuhausen a.d.F. are ultimately at the receiving end, since they can only be realized with a high part of public funds", Hermann underlined the importance of a fast succession regulation.
In the meeting of the Federal Chancellor with the heads of the government of the states on 24th September 2015, the federal government had already fundamentally promised to continue the funds of the municipality traffic financing law within the framework of the new regulation of the federal government/federal states financial relationships beyond 2019 without any cuts. "A fast agreement and thus an implementation by the legislature of this agreement by the federal government based on the state's suggestion is overdue. States and client bodies need clarity!" Hermann confirms. Until now, the realization is still outstanding, since the new regulation of the federal government/state financial relationships has not been finalized yet.
