Another contentious topic for members of the German government is increasing the width of many of these major motorways. “If we don’t want to experience similar conditions on the road as with the rails, we urgently need to take countermeasures here,” said Wissing. “In Germany, not only the number of cars but also freight traffic has risen constantly over the years. However, this has not been followed up either by rail or by road.”
Wissing is all for electric vehicles or using carbon-neutral fuels but says that the rate at which freight volumes, in particular, are increasing is taking a toll on the roads.
Wissing said that German autobahns had 3.7 billion gross tons of goods transported on them last year, and it’s getting worse: “In 2023, there will be another 50 million tons more. Even if not everyone likes it, there will be more traffic on German roads and we have to deal with it. Otherwise, the economy will soon come to a standstill, and we will lose jobs.”