ERFURT_Getting more goods off the road and onto rail – that is a key concern of the transport transition in Thuringia. This topic was addressed today, Friday, September 12, 2025, in Bad Salzungen at the “Branchentreff Bahn”, an event organized by the Thuringian Mobility Network (TMN), a project of the Thuringian Ministry for Digital Affairs and Infrastructure (TMDI). Representatives from state politics, railway companies, and companies that operate freight terminals or wish to send more of their goods by rail in the future discussed and advised on current issues surrounding rail freight transport in Thuringia.
"The state government has explicitly set out to noticeably improve mobility services throughout Thuringia – and this essentially includes rail and freight transport by rail. What is the current status? Where is there potential for improvement? The industry meeting 'Bahn' brought together experts on freight transport, offered exchange, and showed ways to shift more freight transport to rail. Success is not achieved as a lone fighter, but only through the concerted action of strong networks. The Thuringian Mobility Network is an example of this; only in this way can we improve the nationwide framework conditions for more freight transport on rail," said Dr. Tobias J. Knoblich, State Secretary at the TMDI, who welcomed the conference guests alongside Bad Salzungen's Mayor Klaus Bohl. A focus of the event was the presentation of the TMN and its key concepts and projects for the further development of (freight) rail transport in Thuringia. The TMN networks relevant stakeholders from science, business, associations, and politics and advances sustainable mobility in the Free State. "We are convinced that a push for rail freight transport in Thuringia, combined with modern concepts of decarbonization and the revitalization of railway lines, will have many positive economic effects for Thuringia," said Sabine Wosche, Managing Director of LEG Thüringen, which operates the TMN office. "Today's conference brought together relevant players, offering many opportunities for good information flow and exchange."
In addition to presenting the TMN and its activities, the conference focused on the EU research project “Rail4Regions“, the opportunities and challenges of rail freight transport in South Thuringia, as well as possible levers for increasing the shift of freight transport to rail as a mode of transport; on the latter topic, Ralf Jentges, lawyer and representative of the company “Beratung über Schienenlogistik und Infrastruktur“ (BSL) Krefeld, gave a lecture. The conference was accompanied by a small “Market of Mobility“ with information booths from, among others, the TMDI, the Erfurt Railway, and the Thuringian Agency For Skilled Worker Recruitment (ThAFF). Here and on the sidelines of the program, there were many opportunities to network and engage in conversation.
