German states demand more federal money as rail track fees for regional trains rise
Track access charges for regional trains are set to rise 7.7% in 2027. State transport ministers warn of service cuts, and Bavaria's minister accuses Berlin of turning a deaf ear.
Symbolic image · Photo: Nelso Silva from Porto, Portugal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
German state transport ministers are demanding more federal funding for regional passenger rail, which they say is becoming unaffordable. Deutsche Bahn's network subsidiary DB InfraGo plans to raise track access charges for regional services by 7.7% in 2027, with another significant increase due in 2028. In March, the European Court of Justice struck down a cap that had shielded regional rail from steep fee increases.
"We now have to absorb eight percent increases for next year. That is money nobody has," Bavarian Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) told Bild, putting the extra costs at "several hundred million euros." Schleswig-Holstein has already cancelled some services, dpa reported, while transport authorities in states such as Saxony are announcing thinner timetables. Several rail operators have sued over the charges together with the regional rail association BSN.
The states point to the coalition agreement of the conservative-Social Democrat federal government, which promises to reform track pricing. The federal government sees no room for more money, according to dpa. "Unfortunately, Berlin is currently turning a deaf ear," said Bernreiter, who chairs a conference of state transport ministers on Wednesday and Thursday in Hohenschwangau.