(de-news.net) – Transport Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) is weighing testing ticket‑based access controls at major train stations, drawing on French and British models but stressing Germany’s distinct infrastructure. Meanwhile, passenger association Pro Bahn calls for targeted camera surveillance limited to train doors and vestibules, while Deutsche Bahn is expanding alcohol bans at stations and revising its large corridor‑modernization program, which is facing delays. Bilger and CDU transport committee member Ulrich Donth argue that past decisions and construction bottlenecks have strained the rail network, requiring stronger oversight and more realistic modernization planning.
Major German train stations should consider introducing access controls, according to Bilger, as authorities look for ways to strengthen security and manage access to the rail network. For long-distance services, Bilger said, it could be beneficial to make platform access more directly dependent on possession of a valid ticket. Although comparable systems are already used in other countries, he acknowledged that Germany could not simply reproduce them because its railway stations have developed historically under different conditions. Even so, he considers the approach fundamentally viable and believes there is scope to develop and test it in practice in Germany.
Similar arrangements are already established elsewhere in Europe. France has access gates at about 20 stations operated by its national railroad, SNCF, including major terminals in Paris and stations in Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Rennes and Nantes. At these locations, tickets are electronically checked before travelers are permitted to reach the platforms. Britain also uses comparable controls: According to National Rail, ticket barriers are in operation at many stations, while some larger terminals restrict access to platforms until trains are ready for passengers to board. The measures illustrate how access control can be integrated into different railway systems, although Bilger’s comments indicate that Germany would need to adapt the concept to its own infrastructure.
Bilger also pointed to a broader security challenge facing transportation infrastructure. Attacks and disruptions involving railroads, energy supplies, waterways and aviation demonstrate, in his assessment, that critical infrastructure is operating in a new security environment. That reality requires stronger protection at particularly sensitive locations as well as the ability to respond quickly when incidents occur. Digital systems could provide another layer of protection by helping authorities identify emerging problems at an earlier stage.
The issue has also become particularly visible through drone incidents at airports. Bilger announced plans to accelerate the deployment of drone-detection technology at international airports, with German air traffic control assigned by his ministry to procure the necessary equipment. At the same time, he cautioned against treating every drone sighting as an intentional threat. In one documented case, a child’s birthday celebration was being filmed near Frankfurt Airport. Under earlier procedures, an alert of that kind might have led to a suspension of flight operations, whereas authorities can now establish the circumstances much more rapidly. The minister nevertheless stressed that private drone operators must understand that dangerous interference with air traffic constitutes a criminal offense.
Pro Bahn urges door‑area cameras on long‑distance trains
Following a dangerous incident in Bavaria in which a train door was opened while the train was moving, passenger association Pro Bahn has called for security cameras to be installed in the entrance areas of long-distance trains. The association argues that doors and vestibules are precisely the locations where such unauthorized interventions can occur. Cameras focused on these areas, it says, could help establish responsibility while avoiding surveillance of passengers throughout the rest of the carriage. Pro Bahn opposes broader video monitoring because long-distance trains serve as spaces in which passengers may spend several hours working, sleeping, eating or holding conversations. Continuous observation of seating areas would therefore represent a disproportionate intrusion into passenger privacy.
Instead, Pro Bahn proposes that cameras covering doors and vestibules be incorporated into the specifications for new long-distance trains and into modernization programs for existing rolling stock. The association’s preferred model would not involve continuous live monitoring. Rather, recordings would remain in a closed-loop storage system for only a few days and would be provided to investigators solely when a specific incident justified their release. This approach is intended to combine targeted security measures with limits on routine passenger surveillance.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bahn is expanding its prohibition on alcohol consumption at railway stations. Beginning in early September, the restriction will cover platforms and station halls at four additional stations in Berlin, Kiel and Braunschweig. The company expects the measure to improve safety for passengers and employees while also contributing to greater cleanliness. Nationwide implementation is planned by mid-October. Comparable restrictions are already in force in more than 30 other cities, including Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich, indicating that the measure is becoming more widespread across the German rail network.
At the same time, Deutsche Bahn’s large-scale corridor modernization program is expected to take considerably longer than previously anticipated. Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla said the program is currently being revised, with the number of major renovation projects undertaken each year likely to be reduced. Coordination with the Transport Ministry remains underway, and no specific timetable for the revised program has yet been announced. Projects that were initially expected to be completed at the beginning of the next decade had already been slowed, with completion subsequently projected for the middle of the 2030s.
Federal oversight tightening after key rail corridors have faced extended disruptions
Bilger pointed to billions of euros from the special infrastructure fund as an important financial foundation for modernizing Germany’s transportation networks and restoring confidence in its railway system. He nevertheless acknowledged that the current condition of the rail network remains inadequate. The difficulties reflect a combination of infrastructure and operational problems, alongside external factors for which Deutsche Bahn cannot be held responsible. Despite the scale of those challenges, Bilger continues to regard the government’s target of having at least 70 percent of long-distance trains arrive on time by 2029 as achievable. He linked that assessment to the volume of rail traffic, congestion at major railway junctions and the extensive construction work currently affecting the network.
Bilger also argued that the railway had been placed under excessive pressure by earlier political decisions. Increasingly ambitious performance objectives had been established without sufficient consideration of the infrastructure expansion required to support them. The resulting imbalance, in his assessment, contributed to the current strain on the system and underscores why modernization and capacity expansion remain central to improving railway performance.
Ulrich Donth, a member of the CDU transport committee, defended the decision to postpone parts of the rail modernization program. Recent general renovation projects, he argued, had demonstrated how severely large-scale construction can restrict railway operations and place additional pressure on an already heavily used network. The Hamburg-Berlin route provided a prominent example, with construction taking several weeks longer than originally expected. For Donth, the central challenge is therefore to continue necessary modernization while also protecting the interests of both passenger and freight customers.
Donth acknowledged that the Federal Government, as Deutsche Bahn’s owner, must exercise stronger oversight if similar problems are to be avoided in the future. The issue is particularly relevant to the planned modernization of the Hannover-Berlin route in October. A previously planned strategy called for long-distance trains to be diverted onto regional tracks during the construction period. That option is no longer feasible because the electrification work is now expected to take an additional year, further complicating the management of passenger services while the route is being renovated.
