Transport sheet T.11
Infrastructure investment
Germany's transport infrastructure is paid for from two sources: the Federal Ministry for Transport's own budget and, since 2025, a €500 billion special fund financed by borrowing. This sheet sets out the figures for 2026 and 2027, explains how the money is divided, documents Steffen Bilger's statements on it, including the new financing model for the motorways, and records the criticism.
Einzelplan 12
The transport budget, line by line
Each federal ministry has its own section of the budget, its "Einzelplan"; transport is number 12. The 2026 budget was adopted in November 2025, before Bilger took office. The 2027 figures are the government's draft, which Bilger introduced at its first reading on 8 September 2026; the Bundestag has not yet adopted it.
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 draft | 2027 vs 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core budget, total expenditure | — | 27.90 | 26.43 | −1.47 |
| Investment in the core budget | 23.72 | 13.48 | 12.76 | −0.72 |
| Special fund (SVIK), transport share | — | 22.00 | 17.72 | −4.28 |
| Autobahn GmbH, investment | 6.63 | 4.26 | 4.36 | +0.10 |
| Federal railways, core budget | 12.60 | 2.69 | 3.00 | +0.31 |
| Federal waterways, core budget | — | 1.82 | 0.85 | −0.97 |
| Rail freight track-access subsidy | — | 0.265 | 0.200 | −0.065 |
| Municipal transport (GVFG) | — | — | c. 2.08 | no comparison given |
| Income: truck toll | — | 13.48 | 13.20 | −0.28 |
The special fund
€500 billion over twelve years
The special fund "Infrastruktur und Klimaneutralität" (SVIK) allows up to €500 billion of borrowing over twelve years outside the normal debt rules. The Bundestag passed the law on 18 September 2025 and the Bundesrat approved it on 26 September 2025; it applies retroactively from 1 January 2025.
The fund was created before Bilger became minister. Its transport share is spent mainly on maintaining existing networks rather than building new ones. In his budget speech he pointed to another use: Das heißt, auch Schleusen und Wasserwege können endlich saniert werden.
("So locks and waterways can finally be renovated too", translation.) On 3 August 2026 he broke ground for a roughly €380 million overhaul of the nearly 100-year-old Kachlet double lock on the Danube at Passau.
Section A — the budget speech
"Germany can do infrastructure"
Bilger's first speech as minister, on 8 September 2026, introduced the 2027 transport budget. According to the Bundestag's report he summed up his message as „Deutschland kann Infrastruktur" ("Germany can do infrastructure").
He said that around €170 billion would be available for transport investment up to 2030, combining the core budget and the special fund. Rail funding would rise by €300 million in 2027 and by €1.8 billion in total by 2030. In return, he said, the government expected clear improvements for customers, and DB managers' bonuses should reflect whether targets were met (see rail).
He closed with a sentence that sums up the government's case for the budget:
Wir investieren genau da, wo es jetzt zählt: in die Lebensrealität der Menschen vor Ort – für den Alltag heute und für unsere Zukunft.
"We are investing exactly where it counts now: in people's everyday lives where they live, for today and for our future." (translation)
Steffen Bilger, budget speech, Bundestag, 8 September 2026 — Bundesregierung
The €170 billion is a total over several years and several sources, presented by the minister. It cannot be checked line by line against the budget documents cited on this page, which cover single years.
Cabinet decision · 7 October 2026
A new financing model for the Autobahn
The Autobahn GmbH has so far depended on annual budget allocations, which makes multi-year projects such as bridge replacements hard to plan. In his budget speech Bilger announced that the coalition had agreed a draft law to let the company borrow; the cabinet approved the new structure on 7 October 2026.
Now
Funding through annual allocations in the federal budget.
2027
The Autobahn GmbH gains limited capacity to borrow.
2028
It receives the infrastructure share of truck-toll revenue, currently about €4.5bn a year, to use itself.
Throughout
The federal government remains sole owner of the motorways and the company; stakes for third parties are excluded.
User charges
The truck toll, paid by heavy goods vehicles.
Federal budget
Continued allocations from Einzelplan 12.
Private capital
Borrowing by the company, without private ownership stakes.
Wir leiten einen Paradigmenwechsel bei der Autobahnfinanzierung ein und schaffen mehr Spielraum für Investitionen in unsere Autobahnen.
"We are initiating a paradigm shift in motorway financing and creating more room for investment in our motorways." (translation)
Steffen Bilger, 7 October 2026 — BMV press release 093/2026
In the Bundestag a month earlier he had described the plan as „ein Paradigmenwechsel in der Modernisierung und Finanzierung des Straßenbaus" ("a paradigm shift in the modernisation and financing of road building", translation), with financing to become „überjährig, flexibel und verlässlich" ("multi-year, flexible and reliable"). The bill still has to pass the Bundestag. See road infrastructure.
The debate
Record level or halved?
The same budget was described in opposite terms in the debate of 8 September 2026. The positions below are as reported by the Bundestag.
Government side
- Isabel Cademartori (SPD) praised investment at a „Rekordniveau" ("record level").
- Stephan Stracke (CSU): „Wir können Infrastruktur" ("We can do infrastructure").
Opposition
- Tarek Al-Wazir (Greens) said the budget had halved from about €50 billion to €26 billion, that there was not enough money for investment, and that no new rail projects could start next year.
- Sascha Wagner (Left) said only €10.2 billion of investment was in the core budget and saw „weder transparente noch nachhaltige Finanzierungskonzepte" ("neither transparent nor sustainable financing concepts", translation). He called the change of minister a "political farce".
- Wolfgang Wiehle (AfD) wanted more money for Autobahn repairs and criticised €11 billion for roads against €20 billion for rail.
The gap after 2027
Commentary and associations
On the day Bilger's appointment was announced, ZDF and Logistik Heute noted that the special fund concentrates on maintenance and that core-budget shortfalls of billions open up from 2028, leaving new rail and motorway projects underfunded. Allianz pro Schiene opposed €145 million of cuts to rail freight support in 2027; the associations VDV and DVF said the cuts weakened reliability and planning security for rail freight.
Documented response
Bilger's main documented answer on roads is the Autobahn financing reform, intended to make funding multi-year. For rail, he cited the additional €1.8 billion to 2030. No statement by him specifically on the 2028 funding gap was found.
Sources
- Deutscher Bundestag — Verkehrsetat 2026 beschlossen (27 Nov 2025)
- heute im bundestag — Regierungsentwurf Verkehrsetat 2026 (Aug 2025)
- heute im bundestag — Verkehrsetat 2027 (19 Aug 2026)
- Deutscher Bundestag — Erste Lesung Verkehrsetat 2027 (8 Sep 2026)
- Bundesregierung — Sondervermögen Infrastruktur und Klimaneutralität
- heute im bundestag — Wirtschaftsplan Sondervermögen 2026
- bundeshaushalt.de — Wirtschaftsplan 2027 des SVIK (4 Sep 2026)
- heute im bundestag — Wirtschaftsplan 2027 des Sondervermögens (hib 646/2026) (17 Aug 2026)
- Bundesregierung — Rede von Bundesminister Bilger zum Haushaltsgesetz 2027 (8 Sep 2026)
- BMV — Pressemitteilung 072/2026: Spatenstich Doppelschleuse Kachlet (3 Aug 2026)
- BMV — Pressemitteilung 093/2026: Neue Finanzierungsstruktur für die Autobahn (7 Oct 2026)
- VerkehrsRundschau — Verkehrsetat im Bundestag: Bilger kündigt neue Finanzierung der Autobahnen an (Sep 2026)
- ZDFheute — Die Aufgaben des neuen Verkehrsministers (27 Jul 2026)
- Logistik Heute — Vor diesen Aufgaben steht der neue Bundesverkehrsminister (27 Jul 2026)
- Bahnblogstelle — Allianz pro Schiene stellt fünf Forderungen an Minister Bilger (19 Aug 2026)