Coal and oil trains are given priority over other freight transport and passenger transport on the rails.

On Wednesday, the federal government passed an ordinance intended to secure the supply of power plants or regions with scarce petrol and diesel stocks.

According to the ordinance, train passengers could be “affected by the failure of rail passenger transport”.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) spoke of a demanding task, since low water also means that inland vessels can transport less.

One must therefore prioritize carefully: "This is not an easy decision, because in case of doubt it means that other trains have to wait in these cases."

Only military transports should still have priority over coal trains.

Germany supplies armaments to support Ukraine and is also a transit country for such.

Because of their weight, military goods are predominantly transported by rail.

"In order to avoid an immediate threat to or disruption of the energy supply in Germany, a different logistical planning of energy carrier transports has become necessary," the statement said.

The prioritization also applies to inland shipping in view of the low water problem.

This could mean additional delays for passenger transport: ICE or regional trains would have to wait in case of doubt.

In the past few months, almost every second long-distance train was already too late, mainly because of the chronic problems in the rail network.

Priority applies initially for six months

The ordinance focuses on certain rail corridors, which include the busy Rhine Valley and also large parts of eastern Germany.

In order to save gas, more coal-fired power plants are to be run again, but they have to be supplied.

The decision to stop using Russian pipeline oil for the Schwedt and Leuna refineries at the end of the year makes supply in eastern Germany more difficult.

The ordinance is intended to ensure that mineral oil products can be brought into the region with priority if the refineries are not able to produce fully from next year.

According to the regulation, priority should initially apply for six months.

"Immediate entry into force after the announcement is necessary in order to be able to react quickly to the threatening situation." The ordinance is based on the provisions of the Energy Security Act (Ensig).

The Bundestag and Bundesrat no longer have to comment on the ordinance.