{"id":36865,"date":"2024-05-07T20:21:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T10:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=52405"},"modified":"2024-05-07T20:21:27","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T10:21:27","slug":"german-rail-companies-start-lawsuit-after-planned-162-tac-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=36865","title":{"rendered":"German rail companies start lawsuit after planned 16,2% TAC increase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eleven German rail companies are going to court over an approved 16,2 per cent track-access charge (TAC) increase. The new TAC rate would go into force from mid-December, but the eleven companies are now aiming to prevent that from happening.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>The approved 16,2 per cent TAC increase would be a bigger jump than all increases of the past five years combined, says rail freight organisation Die G\u00fcterbahnen. However, such an increase may not take place after all. The eleven companies, which include DB InfraGO, DB Cargo and long-distance passenger operator DB Fernverkehr, are going to court dispute the record TAC jump\u2019s legality.<\/p>\n

Die G\u00fcterbahnen explains that the path price revenue must cover all of the operating costs of Germany\u2019s infrastructure manager DB InfraGO. In addition, there is a profit requirement in the form of a fixed return on investment. With the TAC increase, path price revenue is expected to amount to 600 million euros. However, DB InfraGO does not incur any operating costs. For this reason, the rail companies now aim for \u201ca fundamental change in the system for determining route prices set out in the 2016 Railway Regulation Act\u201d, according to Die G\u00fcterbahnen.<\/p>\n

The 2016 Rail Regulation Act<\/h2>\n

The rail freight organisation explains why the 2016 Act is such a thorn in the side of the eleven companies: \u201cDue to a legal cap on the increase in route prices for local rail passenger transport, the other types of transport \u2013 freight and long-distance passenger transport \u2013 have to accommodate significantly higher route price increases in their end customer prices.\u201d This has also prompted the DB subsidiaries to join the lawsuit. Since the prices have to be approved by the federal Bundesnetzagentur, the lawsuit is formally directed against that agency.<\/p>\n

Rail suffers from TAC increase<\/h2>\n

Die G\u00fcterbahnen is concerned about the TAC jump\u2019s negative impact on the rail freight industry. DB InfraGO charges a fee for every kilometre travelled on the network. At the moment, operators pay 3,21 euros per kilometre, but this will grow to 3,73 euros from mid-December onwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would pay a lot more money for less performance. The state of the network has not improved and the obstacles in the network are getting bigger and bigger due to more and more construction sites. This means that rail companies\u2019 operating costs are increasing anyway\u201d, says G\u00fcterbahnen CEO Ludolf Kerkeling.<\/p>\n

Rail\u2019s competitiveness vis-\u00e0-vis road transportation stands to worsen from these increases, says Kerkeling. \u201cThe path price support cut at the end of 2023 has massively damaged and weakened the freight railways. Companies cannot pass on further cost increases to end customers, and numerous transport operations become uneconomical and are switched from rail to road.\u201d When customers switch from rail to road, CO2 emissions also skyrocket, warns Die G\u00fcterbahnen.<\/p>\n

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