German Transport Minister Schnieder resigns ahead of expected dismissal

The federal transport minister has to step down. His track record is more sobering than bad. Some things succeeded, others failed due to money – or time.

Unlucky Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (left) with Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla: The railway remains a problem child for now. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

By Wolfgang Mulke

On Sunday evening, Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) had enough. He announced that he would ask Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to dismiss him. "With this step, I am drawing the consequences from the developments of the past few days and at the same time want to end the undignified situation that makes the necessary objective work impossible," it said in a statement to the German Press Agency.

Since last Friday, it has been clear that he is to step down. Merz apparently does not consider his work good enough; he reportedly wanted to replace Schnieder with Fritz Güntzler, a CDU politician not at all familiar with transport policy – who, however, declined. Who will now replace Schnieder is not yet known.

These events say a lot about Merz's appreciation for both Schnieder and his department, transport. Schnieder's track record so far is mixed, but not uniformly poor.

Positive Developments

On the positive side are the changes at the railway company. Railway CEO Lutz had to go, Evelyn Palla took over and has since been trying to clean up at Deutsche Bahn. With his "Agenda for Satisfied Customers on the Rails," the minister set the direction. Special programs are intended to ensure more cleanliness, safety, and more reliable information.

Setbacks and Missed Opportunities

However, when it came to major structural changes, Schnieder acted unluckily, sometimes with little ambition.

• Failed appointment of DB InfraGO leadership: The appointment of the head of the network division DB InfraGO through external manager Dirk Rompf in September 2025 was poorly prepared and was prevented by the Railway and Transport Union (EVG).
• Supervisory board oversight: Schnieder left the chairmanship of the InfraGO supervisory board to railway CEO Palla, instead of making the infrastructure division more independent of corporate interests through an external supervisory board.

Problem Child: Deutsche Bahn

Important tasks have not yet been properly tackled by Schnieder.

Generally, Deutsche Bahn remained the transport minister's biggest problem. The trains are notoriously unreliable, the rail network is overloaded and dilapidated. With the corridor renovations, the results fall short of expectations, for example due to the abandonment of digital train control. Schnieder's bad luck: Fixing these difficulties takes time.

Although more money than ever before is available for the railway this year – over 18 billion euros – the funds are far from sufficient. Billions are missing for expansion and new construction because the transport budget has been cut and only maintenance is financed from the special fund for infrastructure. When Schnieder complained about this, he faced criticism within the government.

Unfinished Business

Schnieder has not yet properly tackled other important tasks:

• InfraPlan: This would specify the expansion and maintenance goals for the rail network and set them over a five-year period. It also provides the basis for reliable financing during this period.
• Track access charge reform: Due to a ruling by the European Court of Justice, local transport companies have to pay more for using the rails and are therefore coming under even greater financial pressure. "There is a threat of cuts in services," warns the Federal Association of Local Rail Transport.

Successes

Schnieder was more successful with:

• Easing of driver training: Planned changes are intended to make obtaining a driver's license more affordable.
• Law to Accelerate Future Investments: Schnieder counts this as a success for himself, though it faces criticism from environmental associations.