Federal Network Agency approves 2026 track charges, freight up 5.8%

Railway undertakings pay on average 2.4% more from 14 December 2025 for using the DB network, instead of the roughly 16% DB InfraGO had requested; the feared rise of up to 35% in freight did not materialise. The cost ceiling is set at EUR 6.991 billion (requested: EUR 9.290 billion), and the federal government provides EUR 265 million in 2026 for track-charge subsidies.

On 12 December 2025 the Federal Network Agency approved DB InfraGO's track access charges for the timetable year starting on 14 December 2025: on average about 2.4% higher (about 16% had been requested), about 5.8% higher for freight, 3% higher for regional passenger services and about 1.2% lower for long-distance services. This was achieved through the act to dampen the rise in charges, passed by the Bundestag on 13 November 2025, which caps the return on DB's equity at 1.9% instead of 5.2% (relief of about EUR 75 million in 2026), and through additional federal maintenance funding; the cost ceiling is EUR 6.991 billion rather than the EUR 9.290 billion DB InfraGO sought. Freight operators and the VDV welcomed the outcome, but the ruling was not yet final, and a European Court of Justice ruling on the price brake for regional services (expected in the first half of 2026) and the track-charge reform were still pending. (LOK Report, 14 Nov, 12 Dec and 16 Dec 2025)