One representative from each of the other parliamentary groups was elected as a member of the board of directors of the PG Schiene, all of whom are members of the Bundestag (Member of the Bundestag). The new board members are:
- Valentin Abel (FDP parliamentary group)
- Michael Donth (CDU/CSU parliamentary group)
- Matthias Gastel (Bundestag parliamentary group Alliance 90/The Greens)
- Bernd Riexinger (Bundestag faction Die Linke)
- Wolfgang Wiehle (AfD parliamentary group)
Around 100 MPs will work together across parliamentary groups in this legislative period for a more attractive path. The work of the PG Rail is also intended to serve as a link between parliament, the railway industry, experts from Germany and abroad, and the interested public. This requires professional management. As since its foundation in 1988, this will continue to take over the German Transport Forum DVF. DVF Managing Director Dr. Heike van Hoorn was appointed by the board of the parliamentary group as managing director of the PG rail.
The newly elected chairman of the PG Schiene Schiefner said: “I look forward to cross-party cooperation in the parliamentary group on rail transport for a strong railway in Germany. The branched rail network corresponds to the lifeline for social participation of our citizens and guarantees the environmentally friendly supply of our industrial sites with raw materials. This network must be maintained and modernized in order to meet current and future requirements and to offer people an attractive rail service as an alternative to cars.”
The guest speaker was the CEO of Deutsche Bahn AG, Dr. Richard Lutz. Like Schiefner, he emphasized the need to digitise rail operations. Only through “consistent modernisation” of the railways will their share of the modal split increase: “The coalition agreement is a strong sign of a strong railway. This gives climate-friendly rail transport a strong tailwind. And without a strong rail system, we will not achieve the German and European climate goals.”
DVF Managing Director Dr. Heike van Hoorn expressed her thanks for the renewed trust: “It is a great honor and pleasure for us to continue to manage the affairs of the parliamentary group rail in this legislative period. We will continue to stand up for you and with you for rail in the next four years. The necessary measures and the associated investments can only be organized across factions. We are happy to be able to create the necessary platform and publicity for this.”
Hermann Schmidtendorf, Editor-in-Chief / dv
