CDU on transport

The CDU wants to give all school students a free Deutschlandticket (nationwide public transit pass), paid for by the state. It should no longer matter how far someone lives from school. The party considers the current rule unfair.

The CDU wants a free Deutschlandticket for all school students. This is a pass for buses and trains. The state pays for it. Where a student lives does not matter. So far, only children with a long way to school get it.

The ticket is to be given out regardless of where students live. The state is to cover the cost. According to the platform, only students who do not live too close to their school currently receive a ticket. The CDU wants to end this unequal treatment.

The CDU wants to prioritize repairing roads, bridges and rail lines and to set up a dedicated state infrastructure fund for this. Planning and approval of construction projects are to be sped up.

The CDU wants to fix broken roads and bridges. Rail lines should be renewed too. The state should set up its own pot of money for this. Building firms could then plan for years ahead. Permits should come faster.

The fund is to be filled from budget reserves and regular budget money and is meant to add to the federal special fund. This should let construction firms plan for years and build up staff and equipment. The state road agency, Landesbetrieb Mobilität, is to be strengthened further. The CDU wants to implement the acceleration package for planning and approvals quickly and expand it where needed. Permitting offices are to go digital, and private builders and outside planning firms are to be involved more. Construction methods that make repairs more efficient in other states are to be reviewed.

The CDU wants Rhineland-Palatinate to catch up on rail. Stations are to become more modern and accessible, regional trains are to run more often, and closed lines are to keep being reopened where this pays off.

The CDU wants better train service in the state. Stations should be modern, safe and clean. Everyone should be able to reach the train without barriers. Regional trains should run more often. Old rail lines should reopen if it is worth it.

Closed rail lines are to keep being brought back as long as the cost-benefit study is positive and the money is available. Together with the federal government, the CDU wants to expand digital networks along rail lines. This is meant to make the rail network more capable and bring digital technology to rural areas. Regional passenger and freight traffic are both supposed to benefit.

The CDU wants to strengthen freight transport by ship, arguing that this is the most environmentally friendly way to move large volumes. The Rhine and Moselle are to stay reliably navigable, and inland ports are to be secured as transfer hubs.

The CDU wants more goods to travel by ship. It says this is best for the environment when loads are large. Ships should always be able to use the Rhine and Moselle. The river ports should stay strong.

The party wants to push for the so-called Abladeoptimierung on the Middle Rhine, meaning ships there could carry more cargo. The Moselle locks are to be secured so the river stays navigable even after accidents. In the inland ports, the interplay of ship, rail and truck is to be kept and expanded. Berths and shore power connections are to be co-funded with the federal government where possible, to ease the burden on people living along the rivers.

The CDU backs building a bridge across the Middle Rhine. It argues that there is no Rhine bridge along roughly 80 kilometers between Mainz and Koblenz.

The CDU wants to build a new bridge over the Rhine. It would stand on the Middle Rhine. Today there is no bridge between Mainz and Koblenz. That is about 80 kilometers.

The platform points to the lack of a fixed Rhine crossing on the roughly 80-kilometer stretch from Mainz to Koblenz. The party explicitly commits to building the Mittelrheinbrücke. It places the project in the context of infrastructure meant to connect regions.

The CDU wants to fund buses and trains better, coordinate them statewide and create a statewide transit ticket. In rural areas, on-demand services and volunteer-run community buses are to secure connections so no one is left behind.

The CDU wants to spend more on buses and trains. There should be one ticket for the whole state. Students and trainees would get a Deutschlandticket. In rural areas, buses should run when people order them. The CDU wants to support community buses everywhere.

Central towns are to be linked by fixed lines on a regular schedule. To connect rural areas to these hubs, the CDU wants to expand on-demand services and data-driven offerings. Community buses (Bürgerbusse) are to be funded across the state. Mobility points are meant to make switching between modes of transport easier. The statewide ticket is to be tailored to different user groups. All school students and trainees are to receive a Deutschlandticket (nationwide transit pass), wherever they live.

The CDU wants to keep strengthening cycling and create safe bike paths that fit into the existing transport network. To do so, the state road agency is to get more planning capacity.

The CDU wants more safe bike paths. The paths should fit well with other routes. The state should have more planners for this. Fast bike routes should be built first.

The Landesbetrieb Mobilität is to get enough planning capacity to carry out municipal bike path projects. Priority goes first to expanding fast cycle routes (Radschnellwege). The party stresses that it does not want to pit modes of transport against each other.

The CDU sees the car as still important in a largely rural state and does not want to rule out any type of drivetrain. It backs the federal government's push for technology neutrality in the EU and wants to expand charging and fueling networks and make the driver's license cheaper and simpler.

The CDU says the car stays important, mostly in rural areas. All kinds of engines should stay allowed. That includes electric, hydrogen and engines with synthetic fuel. There should be more charging stations. Getting a license should cost less. The CDU wants a license from age 16.

In the party's view, even good public transit cannot replace the car outside urban centers. Charging and fueling infrastructure is to grow everywhere, with a dense network of fast chargers that also serves electric trucks. Together with the federal government, more truck parking is to be created, with incentives for designating land. On licenses, the CDU supports the federal initiative for simpler rules and lower costs. The state is to introduce digital learning formats and support practice driving grounds on disused sites. At the federal level, it wants to push for a license at 16, mainly for young people in rural areas.