Bundestag passes GHG quota law but excludes rail electricity

Rail freight remains at a disadvantage against electric road transport because rail power cannot be credited towards the quota; according to Die Güterbahnen, crediting it would lower operating costs and encourage a shift to rail, and the EU's RED II directive expressly allows it.

The Bundestag has passed the Second Act on the Further Development of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Quota without allowing rail electricity as a way of meeting the quota, as industry representatives had demanded. The association Die Güterbahnen calls this a missed opportunity: rail freight remains at a disadvantage against electric road transport even though the EU's RED II directive expressly permits crediting rail power and Belgium and Italy already use it; in Germany it would lower rail freight operating costs and encourage a shift to rail. The association now hopes the Bundesrat will still remedy the flaw (LOK Report, 24 Apr 2026).