Track access charges (TAC) in Germany will rise next month, increasing the burden of costs for rail operators. The German government has now decided to “mitigate the increase in track access charges” by reducing the profit margin of the country’s infrastructure manager DB InfraGO.
Currently, DB InfraGO can have a profit margin of 5.2%, which would allow them to increase TAC by 35%. Now, the government is reducing it to 1.9%, which should translate into a lower increase, namely around 16%. This might be seen as a step in favour of the rail freight sector, but its ability to pay remains quite low, meaning that even smaller increases will have a negative impact.
Who voted in favour?
The mitigating measure was approved by the German transport committee, but not all political parties were in favour. The coalition parties CDU/CSU and SPD, as well as the Green Party voted to reduce DB InfraGO’s profit margin, while The Left Party and AfD voted against. The main decision that needs to be made is whether or not the German infrastructure manager is a public service company, and thus would not need to turn a profit.