EVG warns of smaller cities being cut off as Italo enters German long-distance rail market

Is the end of cross-subsidisation looming?

At least 16 cities face being cut off from ICE and IC services, according to an analysis by the union. Cities named include Schwerin, Augsburg, and Jena. An EVG spokesperson explained that this is a preliminary analysis and that only stations where the union is currently certain there would be significant impacts are listed.

EVG chief Martin Burkert issued a stark warning: "Wenn Italo hier Rosinenpickerei betreiben darf und die Bahn von den Hauptstrecken verdrängt wird, zerlegt das unseren Fernverkehr." At the same time, he is calling for package solutions in track allocation that would obligate Italo to also serve rail lines in the provinces.

Burkert also told Bild am Sonntag: "Wer auf den Hauptstrecken ordentlich Kasse machen will, darf sich nicht zu fein sein, um Städte wie Schwerin, Augsburg oder Jena anzufahren." Deutsche Bahn would then be less able to cross-subsidise long-distance rail connections in the provinces, he told the paper.

Deutsche Bahn is also raising the alarm

Deutsche Bahn itself is also striking alarming notes in a similar direction. Bahn chief Evelyn Palla recently called on politicians to create better political framework conditions. "Sonst droht ein ungesteuerter Wettbewerb, dessen Folgen sich am Ende womöglich für die Mehrheit negativ auswirken", warned Palla.

Bahn has been emphasising for weeks that it has nothing against competition, but warns that long-distance services in rural areas could be scrapped if lucrative tracks go to competitors. Deutsche Bahn's long-distance chief Michael Peterson recently spoke in the "Tagesspiegel" of around 120 stations that could be affected.

Call for political framework conditions

Italo itself says it plans extensive investments in trains for its planned German launch. Whether the company will serve routes beyond the two corridors mentioned is not yet known. The EVG is pressing for politicians to set the course early so that competition does not come at the expense of smaller cities and rural regions.

The discussion comes at a time when Deutsche Bahn is already under pressure to make its long-distance services economically viable. If Italo only serves the most profitable corridors, according to the union, Bahn would either have to accept losses on these routes or cut back its own connections in rural areas. Both scenarios would be hardly compatible with the political goals of better connecting rural areas.