Schwesig and Woidke: Traffic revolution for the border region starts now!

Schwesig and Woidke: Traffic revolution for the border region starts now!

In Neubrandenburg, the SPD heads of government Manuela Schwesig from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Dietmar Woidke from Brandenburg met for an important meeting. Your concern: Strengthening cooperation and expanding transport connections between the federal states and with Poland. It became clear that the time was ripe for tangible measures, after all, the first joint cabinet meeting since 2019 took place. How NDR reports, the focus is particularly on expanding rail and road connections and reducing electricity prices.

A central project in the pipeline is regional train line 3, which will run every hour from Berlin via Pasewalk and Anklam to Stralsund from 2026. There are also plans to revive the southern railway between Pritzwalk and Güstrow. Schwesig announced additional staff for road expansion, which will speed up the federal highway 96 between Neustrelitz and Neubrandenburg. Another important project is the connection of federal highway 198, which is intended to bring Mirow and Wittstock closer.

Cross-border cooperation in focus

A particularly important topic of the discussions was the expansion of cross-border rail routes to Poland. The politicians particularly called for an improvement in connections towards Szczecin. In the course of this, planning a joint office in Anklam is being discussed in order to promote the development of the German-Polish metropolitan region of Stettin.

The EU is supporting this initiative with a number of projects aimed at improving cross-border rail connections within Europe. This includes how the EU informed, an action plan aimed at reducing barriers to international rail transport. The goal is to double cross-border rail traffic by 2030 and triple it by 2050.

Cultural aspects and economic opportunities

Another interesting aspect is the planned hotel project on the Szczecin Lagoon. Although the purchase agreement was revoked, the city remains interested in the project because Szczecin attracts culture fans and investors. Governments see this as a benefit for the border region as it promotes exchange between cultures and the economy.

The next challenge is border controls, which will primarily affect holidaymakers and commuters. They have to prepare for more frequent controls at the borders with Denmark and Germany NDR reported. This circumstance shows that the development of passenger transport and the policy of free movement are closely intertwined and will continue to be at the center of debates in the coming years.