Railway competitors are defending themselves against price increases for route use

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Route renovation (archive photo): The railway transport companies also have to pay

Photo: Julian Stratenschulte / dpa

User fees must be paid for train journeys on the German rail network - these so-called route prices are expected to rise sharply in the coming year. This particularly affects freight and long-distance transport. There are protests against the increase in the industry. There is talk of a “shift brake” in competition with trucks. But the higher rail toll could also have consequences for private travelers on long-distance transport. The Greens are calling for legal changes to reduce route prices. And even Deutsche Bahn is worried.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Transport said that the federal government was keeping a close eye on the effects of the route price adjustment on local, long-distance and freight transport. In the current budget negotiations, the ministry is working intensively to secure short-term funds to subsidize route prices in long-distance passenger and freight transport. “But because this cannot be a permanent solution, we must also consider a fundamental revision of the route pricing system in the long term. Various approaches are currently being examined for this purpose.«

Bahn fears stagnating demand

The high additional financial burden, especially on freight and long-distance transport, could lead to stagnating demand on the rail network, said the head of the new rail infrastructure company InfraGo, Philipp Nagl. "We must find solutions with the federal government to limit the disproportionate increases in fees in rail freight transport and long-distance rail passenger transport," he added.

The route prices are fees charged by InfraGo. All companies that use the railway infrastructure have to pay it, including the railway transport companies themselves. Specifically, depending on the type of use, there is a certain amount per kilometer of route. “We use these funds to finance the running costs for operation, maintenance and DB’s investment contributions in the more than 33,000 kilometer long rail network in Germany,” explained Nagl.

Regional transport preferred

A few days ago, the Federal Network Agency approved a significant increase in route prices for 2025 - on average by 6 percent compared to the previous year. The problem: Although regional transport is responsible for most rail traffic, it is only allowed to be burdened to a small extent due to legal regulations. The network agency only approved an increase of 0.6 percent in route prices for this segment.

Long-distance and freight transport will therefore be asked to pay disproportionately in the coming year. Route prices will increase by 16.2 percent for freight transport and by 17.7 percent for long-distance transport. From the industry's perspective, this is a serious blow to the competitiveness of rail compared to road.

The responsible ruling chamber of the Federal Network Agency wrote that the price jumps were not illegal and were not an abuse of a dominant market position - and also referred to high price increases in other areas.

Broad criticism

However, the price jumps triggered widespread protests. “Higher prices every year for less quality in the rail network and inadequate service,” said Neele Wesseln, managing director of the Güterbahnen association, in which rail competitors are organized. "The historically unique increases in route prices that companies are now expected to accept are the result of years of mismanaged federal transport policy." Political intervention is overdue to save the transport transition.

“Until then, freight railways have to fear for their existence: sudden sky-high prices for increasingly unreliable routes cannot be communicated to their customers - it is foreseeable that more will be transported by truck again,” Wesseln continued.

“The train path prices in Germany are already the highest in Europe,” said the company Flixtrain, one of the few competitors of Deutsche Bahn in long-distance transport. »They must under no circumstances continue to rise and must fall to marginal cost levels in the medium term. Not only would all providers benefit from this, but above all passengers would benefit from an improved overall offering.

Dirk Flege, Managing Director of the Pro Rail Alliance, reminded the federal government of the ambitious goals it had set for itself to shift transport from road to rail. “However, sharply rising route prices are a real brake on relocation.” The share of rail in freight transport is currently almost 20 percent. The federal government's goal is to increase it to at least 25 percent by 2030.

Greens demand changes

Cuts in government subsidies for route prices have already caused criticism. Against the background of budgetary constraints following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, the subsidies for this year fell significantly to 229 million euros. InfraGo boss Philipp Nagl suggests limiting the additional burden, at least in rail freight transport, to six percent through higher federal route price support.

The Greens are calling for even more far-reaching solutions. Budget and transport expert Paula Piechotta said: “Rail freight transport and passenger transport should be significantly strengthened by the corridor renovations. This would be counteracted if the use of rail becomes economically less attractive due to the increase in route prices associated with the equity increase. An adjustment to the railway regulation law is the cleanest solution here.

A so-called corridor renovation of heavily used railway lines should be an important step so that the network becomes less prone to disruption and trains run more punctually. In order to mobilize additional money for this, the federal government is planning to increase the equity capital of the federally owned Deutsche Bahn by up to 20 billion euros. This could lead to higher route prices later.

mik/dpa