Federal Network Agency opens rail network to Italo – states and Deutsche Bahn up in arms

Italo plans services from Munich via Cologne to Dortmund and is targeting a market entry in Germany for 2028. What this means for the market launch Italo is targeting for 2028 remains open. The Federal Network Agency has now decided that DB InfraGo, the rail subsidiary responsible for the infrastructure, must allocate at least a quarter of capacities on certain routes to competitors.

Criticism from Deutsche Bahn and InfraGo

The reactions are controversial. Deutsche Bahn (DB) and several German states view the decision extremely critically. Legal action against the ruling is also conceivable. Parties involved, such as Deutsche Bahn, could now take legal action against the ruling at the Administrative Court in Cologne.

Deutsche Bahn itself announced that it would examine the ruling closely. "Wir werden den Beschluss der Bundesnetzagentur ausführlich prüfen und bewerten," the company said. In a statement available to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, InfraGo accuses the authority of "durchgehende Verfahrens- und Aufklärungsfehler." It says there is no factual basis for regulatory intervention by the BNetzA. After all, the allocation of track capacities by InfraGo to competitors has not previously been legally challenged.

Concerns of the federal states

Sharp criticism is also coming from the federal states. Brandenburg's Transport Minister Robert Crumbach (SPD) considers the chosen course to be wrong. He fears fewer stops, worse connections and a thinner range of services for Brandenburg, especially where people depend on rail. "Erst muss die Infrastruktur stabil und leistungsfähig gemacht werden – mit massiven Investitionen in Netz, Stellwerke und Digitalisierung. Dann können wir über zusätzlichen Wettbewerb reden," Crumbach said.

In a statement from the state, it says: "Ein zentrales Problem besteht darin, dass sich der Fernverkehr künftig verstärkt auf wirtschaftlich attraktive Strecken und Trassen fokussieren dürfte. Die bisherige Quersubventionierung schwach ausgelasteter Fernverkehrsverbindungen durch Einnahmen aus lukrativen Strecken entfällt." The state of Brandenburg, in turn, warns of a reduction in long-distance services across the regions.

Bavaria is also expressing opposition. "Im Gegensatz zur BNetzA befürchte ich durchaus, dass der SPNV gerade dort in Mitleidenschaft gezogen wird, wo künftig mehrere Eisenbahnverkehrsunternehmen um lukrative Trassen konkurrieren werden," Bavaria's Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) writes in the paper. The state of Bavaria, for example, fears that regional rail transport (SPNV) in the regions in particular will suffer if the BNetzA's decision stands.

Supporters see more competition

Supporters, on the other hand, see the ruling as an opportunity. "Sie ermöglicht bei knappen Kapazitäten im Schienennetz mehr Wettbewerb im Fernverkehr, ohne andere Verkehrsarten zu benachteiligen," the Die Güterbahnen association said. The "zielgerichtete und auf wenige Netzabschnitte begrenzte" ruling by the BNetzA rather protects the interests of local and freight transport, the rail competitors' association Mofair said, among others. Competition has already led to higher quality and lower prices in local transport.

In any case, the statements have not changed anything. The authority's ruling stands unchanged. This adds another dimension to the conflict over scarce tracks in the German rail network – between the goal of allowing more competition on the rails and the concern that, without massive investment in the network, it is above all the regions outside the metropolitan areas that will lose out. "Die lukrativen Metropolenachsen werden weiter ausgebaut, während die Regionen in der Fläche das Nachsehen haben," Crumbach warns.