DB InfraGO AG’s track access charges for 2026 up by an average 2.4%
Year of issue 2025
Date of issue 2025.12.12
The Bundesnetzagentur has today published DB InfraGO AG’s charges for the use of train paths for the 2025/2026 working timetable period. This means that the track access charging system for trains on DB InfraGO AG’s rail network applicable as from 14 December 2025 is now in place.
“There have recently been large increases in the charges for railway undertakings. We have been able to limit the increases for this coming year. Charges will remain comparatively stable
,” said Klaus Müller, President of the Bundesnetzagentur. “Germany’s legislation to curb the increase in track access charges, which the German Bundestag adopted in November, was an important signal for the viability of the federally owned railways. It serves to lessen the effect on railway undertakings of the costs triggered by the substantial growth in DB InfraGO AG’s equity base. The same applies to the allocation of funds for maintenance measures by DB InfraGO AG, which the federal government
has just agreed on
.”
Upper limit for total costs
The Bundesnetzagentur examined the costs claimed and decided to set an upper limit of €6,991mn on the total costs.
DB InfraGO AG’s total costs are subject to an upper limit that is set each year by the Bundesnetzagentur. Account is taken of exceptional increases in costs if the upper limit would otherwise mean that DB InfraGO AG would not be able to cover its costs with the charges calculated on this basis and provided that DB InfraGO AG is not accountable for the increases.
The upper limit for total costs for the 2026 working timetable period would essentially have been €7,073mn. However, DB InfraGO AG claimed substantial increases in costs and sought to have the upper limit set at €9,290mn. One key driver of the costs claimed is the injection of equity by the federal government in 2024 and 2025. The federal government had injected equity into DB InfraGO AG to make up for the loss of government funding via Deutsche Bahn AG. The equity resources were needed for maintenance and renewal measures. Unlike infrastructure measures financed by government funding, measures financed with equity are relevant to the costs. They lead to depreciation and, with respect to the capital employed, to an entitlement to profit. Germany’s legislation to curb the increase in track access charges levied by federally owned railways reduces the entitlement to profit to a fixed figure of 1.9%. This alone brings the upper limit for total costs down by nearly €700mn compared with the claimed costs.
Further cost increases are due to the rise in expenditure on maintenance and associated costs, in particular in connection with the general renovations. Over the last few days, the federal government has created the prerequisites for another large increase in the funds allocated to DB InfraGO AG to supplement the performance and financing agreement (LuFV III).
A considerable part of the other costs claimed by DB InfraGO AG could not be recognised because they were due to cost increases within DB InfraGO AG’s sphere of risk.
Scope of approval
The lowering of the upper limit for total costs results in an average increase in track access charges of about 2.4% compared with 2025. DB InfraGO AG had originally put forward charges that would have been about 16% higher than the charges for 2025, averaged over all rail transport services.
The track access charges for regional and local rail passenger transport will increase by 3%. This increase corresponds to the rate of development for charges for regional and local rail passenger transport laid down in law (known as the track access charge curb), which is still applicable.
The track access charges for long-distance rail passenger transport will decrease by an average of about 1.2%.
The approved charges for rail freight transport are about 5.8% higher than the current charges.
In this context, reductions in charges were approved that benefit railway undertakings that are affected by diversions due to the ongoing general renovations.
Charges apply from 14 December 2025
This year, the Bundesnetzagentur did not complete the approval procedure within the usual deadlines but extended the procedure until just before the beginning of the working timetable period, as widely agreed with the sector stakeholders. This provided scope for the adoption of the legislation to curb the increase in track access charges levied by federally owned railways. The approved charges form the basis for the next working timetable. The 2025/2026 working timetable year begins on 14 December 2025.
The ruling chamber’s decision is not yet final.
In addition, proceedings are pending at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) relating to a request for a preliminary ruling from Cologne Administrative Court on actions brought by DB InfraGO AG and several railway undertakings on the track access charge curb for regional and local rail passenger transport. The undertakings had lodged actions because the statutory track access charge curb for the publicly financed regional and local rail passenger transport means that charges in this segment are stable, while those for the privately financed long-distance rail passenger transport and rail freight transport have increased considerably in recent years. A decision from the CJEU in the proceedings is expected in the first half of 2026.
The decision on the track access charges for the 2025/2026 working timetable period and further information are available online at www.bundesnetzagentur.de/bk10aktuell (in German).