Patrick Schnieder, Germany’s minister of transport, has presented Berlin’s new and long-awaited rail strategy. Alongside personnel changes at the very top, Germany has proposed a number of changes that are important for rail freight, including in the single wagonload (SWL) area and organisational changes for infrastructure manager DB InfraGO.
The aim is to make the railways “punctual, clean and safe again”. To make that happen, Germany’s new rail strategy is focused around three pillars, the ministry writes. Those pillars include reforms at Deutsche Bahn, measures at the German federal level and an “activation of the entire sector”.
As part of the plan, Deutsche Bahn should get a clear financing structure and an effective organisational structure. Moreover, federal measures include targeted management through “an appropriate governance concept”, the provision of federal funds and promoting digitalisation.
The transport ministry also says that it wants a “Reliable Rail” task force, a strengthened sector advisory board, fair access conditions to the rail network, and joint digitalisation initiatives.
What does it mean for rail freight?
For rail freight, there are some important plans in the new strategy. For one, Germany’s national freight operator DB Cargo will have to return to profitability by 2026, as was already the case. “The restructuring measures at DB Cargo AG must be continued and, if necessary, intensified”, the strategy says.
Also in the SWL segment, where DB Cargo dominates with around a 90% market share, the transport ministry has ideas (or rather, an idea). It “will examine the transformation of single-wagon transport combined with a hub system”, it says, without elaborating further.
Germany’s notorious track access charges (TAC) system will also undergo changes. By 1 January 2027, there should be a reform in place, but it remains unclear how that will look in practice. The transport ministry explains, however, that it has already started the first important legislative reform steps to reduce TACs charged by DB InfraGO. “These include, among other things, the increased use of construction cost subsidies, a reduction in the equity interest rate, and increased maintenance subsidies.”
A more independent infrastructure manager
And when it comes to DB InfraGO, the infrastructure manager will be further distanced from the DB Group. Currently, the DB Group controls DB InfraGO via a control and profit-transfer agreement, meaning that DB InfraGO’s management must follow DB’s instructions. The government is questioning whether this arrangement should continue.
In the first half of 2026, Berlin will decide whether DB should still be able to direct InfraGO’s decisions, or whether DB InfraGO should gain more independence. Even before that, DB’s framework will be changed so that any instruction by DB that affects the infrastructure manager must first be approved by DB’s Supervisory Board.
Moreover, Germany wants to make sure that all DB InfraGO profits are reinvested into infrastructure. It rules out the use of infrastructure-related profit to cover for losses of the broader DB Group. The ministry underlines that InfraGO’s role includes ensuring non-discriminatory access for all freight operators.
Then there are proposed changes in the personnel area. The infrastructure board position at DB group level will be abolished, says the transport ministry. Instead, the CEO of DB InfraGO will get a stronger position, becoming responsible for infrastructure quality and ensuring a smooth, non-discriminatory operation for all operators.
Rail task force
The German transport ministry is also signalling that it wants more sector input in policy-making. “A significantly greater reliability on the railways is only possible together with the entire sector and the federal states”, it says. For that reason, the ministry is establishing a temporary “Reliable Rail” task force.
The task force should bring together the federal government, the states, railway undertakings, the Federal Railway Authority, the Federal Network Agency, contracting authorities, trade unions, and DB InfraGO. “The goal of the taskforce is to initiate a joint package of measures with quickly effective levers. Wherever possible, these levers should already begin to take effect from 2027.”
By the end of March 2026, Germany hopes to address some key issues through the task force, among which are the optimisation of services in highly congested nodes, simplifying operating rules and reducing construction timetables.
New CEO appointments
The strategy plan is accompanied by new high-level appointments at DB. The German transport ministry proposes Evelyn Palla, who now heads the DB Regio passenger branch of the group, as the new CEO of DB. The person to lead the more independent DB InfraGO is Dirk Rompf, who is now managing director at the strategy consultancy Ifok, to head infrastructure manager DB InfraGO.
Private rail freight association Die Güterbahnen has reacted positively to the nomination of Evelyn Palla, together with rail competition association mofair: “The associations of competitive railways, mofair and Die Güterbahnen, support transport minister Patrick Schnieder’s proposal to appoint DB Regio CEO Evelyn Palla as CEO of DB Group”, they write.
“Palla is aware of the need for restructuring and the DB’s image problems. From her work at the Austrian State Railways (ÖBB), she also knows that and how a corporate infrastructure can function without a control agreement and profit entitlement. Now all that’s missing are robust ownership and infrastructure strategies from the federal government.”