{"id":147915,"date":"2024-11-07T18:23:29","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T08:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=57724"},"modified":"2024-11-07T18:23:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T08:23:29","slug":"db-infrago-seeks-to-change-rules-with-planned-35-tac-increase-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=147915","title":{"rendered":"\u2018DB InfraGO seeks to change rules with planned 35% TAC increase for 2026\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Track access charges (TAC) in Germany remain an issue for the rail freight industry. They will rise 16.2 per cent in 2025, with industry associations claiming now that 2026 might see even more expensive fees (+35 per cent) for using the rail infrastructure. On paper, there are laws to keep TAC in check, but the German infrastructure manager DB InfraGO is now ready to take legal action against such measures to have more freedom when setting up TAC, association Die G\u00fcterbahnen highlighted.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Currently, each freight train pays 3.21 euros per kilometre to use the German railways. In 2025 it will go up to 3.73. For 2026, DB InfraGO applied to further increase it to 5.04 euros\/km, according to Die G\u00fcterbahnen. In theory, however, there is a limit on how much the German infrastructure manager can collect from TAC, which is determined by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).<\/p>\n

For 2026, the Agency set this limit at 7,46 billion euros. On the other hand, Die G\u00fcterbahnen said that the 35 per cent increase requested by DB InfraGO for that year would be 7,87 billion euros, 400 million over the permitted limit. \u201cThat’s not a mistake\u201d, the association pointed out. According to them, DB InfraGO is planning a lawsuit against the Federal Network Agency and its decision. \u201cThe negotiation of track access charges for 2026 has only just begun and is not expected to end until March 2025\u201d, Die G\u00fcterbahnen specified.<\/p>\n