FDP on transport

The FDP stands by construction of the A 20 autobahn including an Elbe crossing west of Hamburg so that freight traffic can bypass the city. New commercial, logistics, and production sites are to be developed along the Fehmarnbelt link.

The FDP wants to keep building the A 20 highway. It should cross the Elbe river west of Hamburg. Trucks would then no longer have to drive through Hamburg. Land for companies should be made ready along the new route to Denmark.

In the FDP's view, new transport corridors offer major opportunities for attracting businesses and for growth. Additional business locations are to be created along the Fehmarnbelt link between Puttgarden and Hamburg. To that end, the program calls for land management with targets for land use. These targets should take into account how much land the state has used so far, so that Schleswig-Holstein is not put at a structural disadvantage compared with other states.

The FDP wants to make planning and approval procedures for transport projects much shorter. In the platform's view, the procedures are too complicated and take too long, which hurts mobility, the economy and trust in democratic decision-making.

The FDP wants transport projects to be planned and approved faster. The party thinks today's procedures are too complicated and too slow. Citizens should be able to see the plans online. Associations should have a say early on.

Planning is to be simplified at the state level, and the FDP also wants to support the federal government in this effort. Planning documents are to be published digitally and environmental groups involved very early; the platform points to Denmark as a model. A cut-off date rule is to prevent later changes in the law from affecting the legality of a planning approval decision. Planning by statute (Legalplanung) is to be used more often. Substantive preclusion is to return: associations that do not take part early would lose their right to sue.

The FDP wants to make road traffic safer through construction and technical measures as well as prevention. The platform puts special weight on prevention and traffic education.

The FDP wants to make traffic safer. There should be better lighting, guardrails and safe bike paths. Speed cameras should stand near kindergartens and schools. Traffic education also matters to the party.

Lighting, guardrails and safe bike paths are to be supported. The platform also considers modern traffic guidance systems, turn-assist systems for trucks and speed cameras at sensitive places such as kindergartens or schools to be useful. The state road safety association (Landesverkehrswacht) is to be strengthened. Municipalities are to keep receiving free dialog displays, meaning signs that show drivers their speed.

The FDP commits to the car as indispensable in a largely rural state and wants to put at least 100 million euros a year into state roads. Major federal projects such as the extension of the A20 highway are to be carried out as quickly as possible.

The FDP says Schleswig-Holstein cannot do without cars. The state should spend at least 100 million euros a year on its roads. The A20 highway should be extended quickly. Drivers should not be held up on purpose.

According to the platform, people should switch to bus, rail or bike because of better services, not because driving is made harder; resident parking fees should be reasonable. The state road strategy is to run through 2030, municipal roads are also to be repaired, and the state road construction agency is to be well equipped. The FDP expects the federal government to stand by the federal transport plan and provide enough planning capacity: the A20 is to cross the A7 and the Elbe into Lower Saxony, the Rader Hochbrücke bridge is to be replaced with six lanes, the A21 extended and the B5 widened. Bypasses, for example for Geesthacht and Schwarzenbek, are also listed. A statewide digital system for coordinating roadworks with municipalities, the federal government and ideally Hamburg is to prevent traffic jams, and working hours on construction sites are to be extended, for example with night work.

The FDP wants to modernize tracks and stations faster, electrify more lines and run passenger rail service without emissions by 2027. The Marschbahn line is to be electrified and double-tracked as a priority.

The FDP wants to improve rail service in the state. More lines should get overhead power lines. By 2027, passenger trains should no longer give off exhaust. The line to Sylt should get a second track.

Besides the Marschbahn, lines such as Kiel–Lübeck are to be electrified; a second track between Klanxbüll and Westerland is meant to reduce cancellations. The state's local transport plan is to be carried out to improve services and frequencies, and the expansion of the S-Bahn network around Hamburg is to move ahead. Trains are to become more accessible, cleaner and safer and offer Wi-Fi; stations are to be renovated and ticketing made more digital. The FDP favors climate-friendly propulsion without committing to one technology, and more competition in local transport. It aims for a joint fare network with Hamburg, better links to Denmark, reopening disused lines where economically viable, and better ICE long-distance connections.

The FDP backs the construction of the fixed link across the Fehmarnbelt between Germany and Denmark. It expects new economic and cultural opportunities for the state, especially for Ostholstein and Lübeck.

The FDP wants the fixed link across the Fehmarnbelt to Denmark. The party sees chances for business and culture. People living nearby should get extra protection from noise. There should be land for companies along the route.

The platform describes the project as a European rail and road project that will better connect Central Europe and Scandinavia. The FDP wants a high-capacity crossing of the Fehmarn Sound and a hinterland connection with noise protection that goes beyond what the law requires. There is to be a fair dialogue with critics of the project. Enough commercial land is to be created along the route, which is why it should get special emphasis in state and regional planning.

The FDP wants rural areas, too, to have a transport service every day and around the clock that can be called up with one hour's notice. To get there, municipalities are to receive targeted funding for new mobility concepts such as citizen-run buses and on-demand transport.

The FDP wants a mobility guarantee. This means people in rural areas can always order a ride. The ride should come within one hour. The state should help towns pay for this.

The platform points to the competence center at the transport authority NAH.SH and to pilot projects for on-demand services, for which support is to be expanded. Projects for autonomous driving are to be supported, including in shipping, for example small ferries. Charging infrastructure for electric cars is to grow; on propulsion, the FDP wants to stay open to all technologies and also support hydrogen and climate-friendly ship engines. Bus services are to become greener, more modern and more passenger-friendly together with the municipalities, which the platform says matters especially for rural areas and school transport.

The FDP wants cycling to account for 30 percent of traffic by 2030 and plans to develop the statewide cycling network further. It also wants Schleswig-Holstein to rank among the top three German states for cycling tourism.

The FDP wants more people to ride bikes. By 2030, bikes should make up 30 percent of traffic. Bike paths should get better and safer. Tourists should also get more good bike routes.

The platform calls for a statewide survey of bike path quality and for repairing bike paths whenever state roads are renovated. It plans more long-distance cycle routes, better links to public transit, more bike-and-ride facilities, and a statewide data and information platform. Campaigns and events are meant to promote cycling. Long-distance routes such as the Baltic Coast route and the Ochsenweg are to be upgraded to quality routes. The FDP wants to use the e-bike trend to connect the coast and the inland areas for tourism.

The FDP wants to improve transport links to the state's ports and strengthen freight traffic there. The Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) is to be modernized and expanded quickly by the federal government so that outages caused by poor condition no longer occur.

The FDP wants ports to be easier to reach. The Kiel Canal should be renewed and expanded quickly. The federal government is in charge of this. Bridges and locks should no longer break down.

The focus is on the federal government repairing and replacing bridges and locks on the Kiel Canal, as well as the Gieselau Canal and its lock. The FDP is open to a federal expansion of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. The river Trave up to the inland ports in Lübeck is also to be classified as a first-order federal waterway.

The FDP stands by air travel and the airports in the state, such as Lübeck, Kiel and Sylt. It wants flying to become more environmentally and climate friendly through synthetic fuels and proposes cooperation among the northern German states for this.

The FDP wants to keep the airports in the state. These include Lübeck, Kiel and Sylt. Planes should use new, man-made fuels. This should be better for the climate.

Under the FDP's proposal, the northern German states would work together on developing and producing synthetic fuels. The platform names Hamburg as the most important airport in the north and wants better connections to it. The same increasingly applies to the Danish airports in Billund and Copenhagen. Copenhagen is expected to become more relevant for Schleswig-Holstein once the Fehmarnbelt fixed link is built.