SPD on transport

The SPD wants to replace the Köhlbrand Bridge with a new structure. The new bridge is to be taller so that large container ships can also reach the Altenwerder terminal.

The Köhlbrand Bridge in the port is old. The SPD wants to build a new bridge. It should be taller. Then big ships can pass under it.

According to the program, the review of the different options is complete. The clearance is to be about 70 meters. Heavy truck traffic is to be handled via the bridge so that it does not divert onto the Elbe islands and burden them.

The SPD wants to expand the port railway so that Hamburg remains Europe's largest rail port. At EU level it wants public funding for the port railway not to count as state aid. The port is also to be digitized through the “SmartPort” project.

Many freight trains run in the port. The SPD wants to expand the port railway. The city should be allowed to pay for it. The EU should permit this. The port should also become more digital.

Plans include expanding the Alte Süderelbe bypass, adding a second track at Hohe Schaar, more rail parking capacity and modernized track systems. The SPD wants to push at European level for public support of the port railway to be allowed and not treated as state aid. Digitization under the “SmartPort” label is meant to keep the port competitive and produce innovations that can be marketed worldwide.

The SPD wants to strengthen Hamburg Airport as an asset for the local economy, modernize its runways and attract more direct connections. Current operating hours are to stay, while noticeable fees for nighttime landings are meant to reduce evening delays.

The SPD thinks the airport matters for Hamburg. It wants to renew the runways. There should be more direct flights. Planes that land late at night should pay high fees.

Modernizing the runways is meant to make flight operations safer and more efficient. The airport is to develop incentive programs for airlines to win new direct flights. Operating rules and hours are to remain unchanged. To protect residents, the SPD wants to push back evening delays and relies on nighttime landing fees that airlines clearly feel.

The SPD wants to expand rapid transit with new lines, extensions and more frequent service to connect more districts. By 2030, all stations that are not yet accessible are also to be rebuilt.

The SPD wants more subway and commuter trains. There will be new lines, such as the U5. Trains should run more often and be longer. More districts will get a station. By 2030 all stations should be step-free.

Plans include the U5, extending the U4 to Horner Geest (2027), to Kleiner Grasbrook (expected 2031) and later to Wilhelmsburg and Harburg, plus a feasibility study for the U2 toward Bergedorf. The S4 to Bad Oldesloe is to run partly from late 2027 and fully in 2029, the AKN line is to become the S5 in 2028, and the S6 is to serve the west and, by late 2029, Neugraben. Longer periods of five-minute service are planned on the S1 and S2, and more double track between Blankenese and Wedel. The SPD also backs reactivating the line to Geesthacht.

The SPD wants to make self-driving minibuses part of public transit by 2030, mainly to improve service in the outer districts. The XpressBus network is to grow and the whole system is to be digitally connected.

The SPD wants to use small buses without drivers. They should be part of public transit by 2030. This helps most at the edge of the city. There should also be more fast bus lines. One app should link all the services.

The Hamburg-Takt service concept is to combine rapid transit, buses, minibuses on fixed routes and on-demand shuttles as feeders. The X22 express bus line is to be extended, and this network gets priority in future service improvements. More Switch points are to ease transfers to car sharing, rental bikes and rental scooters. The commuter rail is to be digitalized, the HVV Switch app expanded and passenger information at stops improved.

The SPD wants to keep co-financing the Deutschlandticket with the federal government, retain the free student ticket and gradually introduce a senior ticket. A fare reform in the HVV transit association is to simplify pricing.

The SPD wants cheap tickets for buses and trains. The Deutschlandticket should stay. School students keep riding for free. Older people will get their own ticket step by step. Prices in the HVV should become simpler.

The apprentice ticket, semester ticket and social discount stay and are to rise at most by the same percentage as the Deutschlandticket. The free ticket for school students introduced in 2024 will continue. The fare reform is meant to create a clear structure for Hamburg and the surrounding area for everyone who does not need a Deutschlandticket.

The SPD supports extending the main station to the south and calls on the federal government to prioritize and bindingly fund the renovation and expansion of the Elbe bridges. This is meant to enable the Deutschlandtakt, a nationally coordinated rail timetable.

The main station is very crowded. The SPD wants it to get bigger. The bridges over the Elbe also need to be renewed. The federal government should pay for this. Then more trains can run on time.

According to the platform, the main station handles about 500,000 passengers a day. The city is renewing the Steintorbrücke, which will be roofed and have bus stops in both directions. The new long-distance station Altona at Diebsteich is to be finished by 2027. If the federal government sticks with the planned relief tunnel for the connecting line, the SPD will support building it.

The SPD rejects reducing traffic lanes and parking spaces across the board, arguing that many people, especially in the outer districts, depend on cars. A parking master plan is to identify areas with heavy parking pressure where no spaces will be removed for now.

Many people need a car, mostly at the edge of the city. The SPD does not want to simply remove parking and lanes. It wants to check where parking is short. There, no spaces should be removed for now. Main roads should keep a 50 km/h limit.

Removal should only be possible where alternatives of at least equal quality exist and are used. In areas with heavy parking pressure a moratorium applies until concepts such as neighborhood garages or a regional parking-space requirement are in place. The moratorium on new resident parking zones stays until federal law allows neighborhood parking; park-and-ride capacity is to grow. Side streets and residential areas are to be calmed, road works better coordinated and bus lanes opened on a trial basis to electric cars and carpools.

The SPD backs the expansion of several highways in the Hamburg area, including extending the A 26 as a link between the A 7 and the A 1. This is meant to improve access to the port and relieve residential areas of traffic, noise and pollution.

The SPD supports widening several highways. The A 26 is to be extended. It should be finished in 2033. Trucks can then reach the port more easily. Residential areas should get less traffic and noise.

The A 26 is to be completed in 2033 and bundle long-distance port traffic; in Wilhelmsburg it runs in a tunnel whose extra cost Hamburg covers. The A 7 is being widened to eight lanes on both sides of the Elbe tunnel, and the cover in Bahrenfeld/Othmarschen is under construction. A section of the A 1 toward Harburg is also to get eight lanes. Planning and funding are federal responsibilities.

The SPD wants to substantially expand charging infrastructure for electric cars with both city-run and private operators. Buses, taxis and rental cars with drivers are to become emission-free step by step.

The SPD wants more charging stations for electric cars. The city should later run 5,000 charging points. Private firms should build 2,500 more. New buses already run without exhaust. From 2025, new taxis must also run without exhaust.

There are to be about 2,000 city-run charging points by 2025 and eventually 5,000 under Hamburger Energiewerke Mobil. Expansion also targets districts with weaker transit service, along with fast chargers at public sites and park-and-ride garages. The city's bus companies have bought only emission-free vehicles since 2020, and depots are being converted. Newly registered taxis and hired cars must be locally emission-free from 2025, large-capacity and wheelchair taxis from 2027.

The SPD wants to focus more on modernizing existing bike lanes, complete the Velorouten cycling network and expand bike parking at rail stations. For pedestrians, sidewalks are to be repaired and made low-barrier.

The SPD wants to renew old bike lanes. The network of bike routes should be finished. Train stations should get more bike parking. Rental bikes should be available across the whole city. Sidewalks should be safe and have few obstacles.

The focus is on everyday use: local centers and rapid transit stations should be easy to reach by bike. Bike+Ride is being expanded, private bike sheds and cargo-bike parking are subsidized, and bike highways from the surrounding region advanced. The StadtRAD bike-share network is to cover the entire city. Where bike lanes are missing and road traffic is heavy, cycling on the sidewalk is to be allowed with regard for pedestrians; sidewalks continue to get lowered curbs.

The SPD wants to treat e-scooter rental as a special use of public space that requires a permit. Scooters would only be allowed in designated areas because badly parked vehicles block the way for others.

E-scooters often block the way. This is hard for people who have trouble walking. The SPD wants rental firms to need a permit. Scooters may then only be parked in marked areas. People who park wrongly must pay a lot.

Until now the service has been possible without a permit. Classifying it as a special use brings fixed parking areas and high fees for violations. These fees are to be collected consistently from users as well.