{"id":164868,"date":"2025-01-07T21:26:20","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T11:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=58897"},"modified":"2025-01-07T21:26:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T11:26:20","slug":"one-year-of-db-infrago-but-rail-freight-sees-no-improvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=164868","title":{"rendered":"One year of DB InfraGO, but rail freight sees no improvement"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 1 January 2024, the former DB Netz and DB Station & Service merged into what is now known as DB InfraGO. At the time, it was hailed as a major turning point in German rail that was supposed to bring improvements for the public good. However, a year into this new arrangement, German rail freight is not getting what it had hoped for.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>\u201cFor the rail transport companies that depend on the performance of the infrastructure operator – regardless of whether they are Deutsche Bahn (DB) subsidiaries or competitors – things went downhill overall in 2024, even under the new company name\u201d, writes German rail freight association Die G\u00fcterbahnen.<\/p>\n

A decline in the quality of operations, a lack of customer orientation and a freeze on rail expansion projects are highlighted by the association as major issues at DB InfraGO. They hinder the success of the sector.<\/p>\n

Acute deficiencies<\/h2>\n

Operational quality is under pressure, because there are \u201cacute deficiencies in the staffing of signal boxes and timetable offices\u201d, says Die G\u00fcterbahnen. The transport time in rail freight grew further in 2024.<\/p>\n

At the same time, rail freight operators have had to accept additional track access charge increases, putting more financial strain on companies already under pressure. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the rail companies found that there is no improvement in the customer orientation of the infrastructure manager during a survey in the summer.<\/p>\n