Transport in Germany

As a densely populated country in a central location in Europe and with a developed economy, Germany has a dense and modern transport infrastructure.

The first highway system to have been built, the extensive German Autobahn network famously has no general speed limit for light vehicles (although posted speed limits are in force in most sections today, and there is a blanket 80 km/h limit for trucks). The country's most important waterway is the river Rhine. The largest port is that of Hamburg. Frankfurt Airport is a major international airport and European transportation hub. Air travel is used for greater distances within Germany but faces competition from the state-owned Deutsche Bahn's rail network. High-speed trains called ICE connect cities for passenger travel with speeds up to 300 km/h. Many German cities have rapid transit systems and public transport is available in most areas. Buses have historically only played a marginal role in long distance passenger service, as all routes directly competing with rail services were in essence outlawed by a law dating to 1935. Only in 2012 was this law changed and thus a long distance bus market has also emerged in Germany since then.

Since German reunification substantial efforts have been necessary to improve and expand the transportation infrastructure in what had previously been East Germany.

The volume of traffic in Germany, especially goods transportation, is at a very high level due to its central location in Europe. In the past few decades, much of the freight traffic shifted from rail to road, which led the Federal Government to introduce a motor toll for trucks in 2005. Individual road usage increased resulting in a relatively high traffic density to other nations. A further increase of traffic is expected in the future.

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