German wagon keepers urge parliament to reverse rail freight funding cuts

The German association of freight wagon keepers VPI has called on the budget committee to reverse planned funding cuts in 2027. The subsidy for track access charges (TAC), for example, would drop to about €200 million, while the TACs themselves are set to rise substantially.
The German freight wagon keepers’ association VPI issued its appeal ahead of the budget committee’s transport budget meeting on 4 November. VPI warned that the cuts would lead to higher transport costs and weaker rail connections for industries.

“The federal government wants to bring more freight onto the rails, but it is cutting funding. That does not add up”, commented VPI Chairman Malte Lawrenz. “Declining funding combined with rising costs jeopardises the performance of rail freight, with consequences for the economy, supply and climate protection.” Lawrenz urged parliamentarians to adjust the budget.

TACs, single wagonload, sidings and terminal all face cuts

The most significant cut concerns TAC subsidies. The existing plan shrinks it to about €200 million in 2027, some €65 million less than originally budgeted for 2026, according to VPI. The association wants a reversal of the subsidy cut. Until the TAC pricing system is reformed, effective relief remains indispensable, VPI argued.

Funding for access to the rail network would shrink as well under the current plan. Single wagonload support would fall from €300 million to about €274 million, funding for intermodal terminals from around €90 million to €73 million and support for sidings from €30 million to €20 million. These instruments keep transport services available for smaller volumes and strengthen industrial supply chains, VPI highlighted.

Besides operational support, the association called for binding multi-year funding commitments for the maintenance and expansion of the network. This is one of the German rail freight industry’s main demands. Both the renovation of the existing network and additional capacity are needed to stabilise current traffic and take on more freight, VPI said.

Explosive cost growth

The planned cuts would come at an inconvenient moment for rail freight. On 1 October, the Cologne Administrative Court overturned a decision by the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) to set the total cost ceiling of the German infrastructure manager DB InfraGO at about €7.3 billion. The ceiling (which determines how much TAC revenue DB InfraGO is allowed to generate each year) now stands at about €8.2 billion. This allows TACs to rise by at least 12.5% in the standard rail freight segment.

Combined with the lower subsidy, rail freight can expect to pay 75% more in track access charges after the timetable change in December. This is an estimation by rail freight association Die Güterbahnen, which RailFreight.com reported on earlier.

Relief is not in sight for the following year either. DB InfraGO’s TAC proposal for 2028 amounts to an average increase of 14.3% for freight, with the heavy traffic and dangerous goods segments carrying a much heavier burden.