DB InfraGO’s proposed track access charges would increase by up to 84.8% for certain freight services, while standard freight trains face a much smaller increase of 6.6%.
According to the new tariff proposal, track access charges for very heavy freight trains, including services carrying steel, construction materials and energy commodities, would rise by 84.8%. Dangerous goods trains, particularly those transporting mineral oil, chemicals and fertilisers, face an increase of 63.5%. The difference reflects Germany’s track access pricing system, which allocates infrastructure costs partly according to the assumed ability of individual market segments to absorb higher charges.
The proposed increases have drawn criticism from the German rail freight association Die Güterbahnen. It argues that the pricing model assumes heavy industrial and dangerous goods customers have limited alternatives to rail and can therefore bear higher charges. However, the association warns that making these services more expensive could encourage freight to move to road transport or industrial production to relocate outside Germany.
For rail freight operators, the increases would follow another substantial rise already proposed for 2027. DB InfraGO anticipates average freight track access charges increasing by 12.9% in 2027 and a further 14.3% in 2028. Across passenger and freight operations, the infrastructure manager’s preliminary revenue target would increase from €7.5 billion in 2027 to €8.6 billion in 2028.
The 2028 tariffs are not yet final. DB InfraGO has stated that its application remains provisional because the level of federal maintenance funding and the regulatory cost ceiling have not been determined. The company expects downward adjustments once these figures are clarified. Die Güterbahnen is calling for a reform of the charging system, arguing that higher infrastructure costs risk undermining the competitiveness of rail freight against road transport.
