Bavaria tables Bundesrat initiative on long-distance rail competition

The trigger is the Federal Network Agency's decision of 17 July 2026, which obliges DB InfraGO to reserve minimum shares of 25 to 40% on heavily used lines for competitors of DB Fernverkehr; Bavaria demands stops in mid-sized cities such as Bamberg and Ingolstadt, protection of regional and S-Bahn reinforcement trains and clear ticketing rules, and warns of a halving of regional services between Munich and Augsburg at peak times. The initiative now goes to the Bundesrat committees and is also on the agenda of the transport ministers' conference in Hohenschwangau on 21/22 October 2026; DB InfraGO is suing over the decision.

The Free State of Bavaria presented its Bundesrat initiative on long-distance rail competition in the Bundesrat on 25 September 2026, after the state cabinet had approved it in July; it is now being discussed in the committees and is also on the agenda of the transport ministers' conference, chaired by Bavaria, in Hohenschwangau on 21/22 October 2026. Transport minister Christian Bernreiter wants to secure long-distance stops in cities such as Bamberg or Ingolstadt, regional and S-Bahn services and through ticketing, and demands that, if necessary, the federal government orders long-distance services. The trigger is the Federal Network Agency's decision of 17 July 2026, under which DB InfraGO must reserve minimum shares of 25 to 40% on heavily used lines for competitors of DB Fernverkehr and against which it is now suing; Italo plans to run from Munich to Berlin and to Cologne and Dortmund from the first half of 2028, and Bavaria warns of a halving of regional services between Munich and Augsburg at peak times. (LOK Report, 23 Jul and 25 Sep 2026)