Maritime Trade and Transport - HWWI

should especially benefit the share of short sea connections via Hamburg. The upturn in
handling amounts, especially in the containerized segment, will unavoidably impact the
need for bottleneck-free hinterland connections that conserve resources. This will confront
regional traffic planning with great challenges, not least in view of Hamburg as a
center of business and industry.
The Plan for Federal Traffic Routes, which explores hinterland links for seaports for
planning until 2015, classifies the following infrastructure projects for Hamburg as “urgently
needed”:
Widening of A1 between Hamburg-Southeast and Hamburg-Billstedt to six lanes.
New construction of A14 (Ludwigslust–Magdeburg)
and A39 (Lüneburg-Braunschweig).
Widening of the Stelle-Lüneburg railroad line (three-track)
and the Uelzen-Stendahl line (two-track).
Beyond these, the planned deepening of the Elbe River is considered the largest in -
frastructure project in northern Germany (€345 mn). Still in the approval phase, the
project is to begin implementation in 2008. After 2006, expansion of the Middle Elbe
will also be initiated (see also Volume A, Chapter 4.5).
6.2 Getting off the road: Establishing a political framework
All forecasts make the same statements about future developments in merchandise transport in
the next ten to twenty years: The road will remain the most important mode of transport, but
will not be able to cope with the increases in road transport of goods. Transport policy must
therefore be redefined as a key component of economic support. Of high priority here are the
establishment of environmental policy measures and preparing alternatives for transport policy.
In approaching this, as in considering the modal split, we want to concentrate solely on merchandise
transport. Since passenger and goods transports generally use the same infrastructure,
whether emissions stem from cars or trucks, pusher units, or cruise ships is not significant in
determining transport policy.
6.2.1 Need-based expansion of inland waterways
The inland vessel is the best mode of transport not only, but especially, for ecological reasons.
Particularly in view of the eastward enlargement of the EU, merchandise transport via inland
waterways provides a considerable, but not yet exploited, potential and could develop into a
competitive alternative to road and rail. 60% of the expanded outer borders are sea borders,
Berenberg Bank · HWWI: Strategy 2030 · No. 4
121