German states demand federal relief from rising rail track fees after EU court ruling

Why rail track fees are rising

The European Court of Justice struck down a German rule in March 2026 that had capped the prices for using rail tracks in regional transport. Track access charges, known as Trassenpreise, are comparatively high because they include the cost of renovating and renewing the rail network. The states warn that, without federal compensation for the extra costs, bus and rail services would have to be cancelled. Schleswig-Holstein's transport minister Claus Ruhe Madsen said even financially strong states such as Baden-Württemberg are being forced to consider large cuts to regional services in coming years, with reductions of over 30 percent under discussion. The federal government sees no financial room for significantly more regional transport funding, which is paid through the so-called Regionalisierungsmittel.

Schleswig-Holstein's proposal

The states followed a proposal from Schleswig-Holstein that asks Berlin to take over the cost of maintaining the rail network. Madsen wants the federal government to carry these maintenance costs rather than having them built into track fees. His position paper asks the federal government to fully cover the additional costs from the court ruling, to secure reliable framework conditions for future planning and to start a reform of the track access charge system. Madsen argues that DB InfraGO can pass most of its costs on to users, which in his view removes a clear incentive to cut spending. Speaking to NDR, he said he was annoyed with both the federal government and the rail company. He also questions whether the Federal Constitutional Court is even able to examine how far Berlin meets its constitutional duty to fund regional transport adequately.

“It is simply bitter that the federal government first saddles the states with sharply rising costs via DB InfraGO, then leaves them in the lurch along with commuters.”

Positions of the other states

Lower Saxony's transport minister Grant Hendrik Tonne (SPD) also called on Berlin to offset the additional costs in the short term while launching a fundamental reform of the track fee system. He said the situation puts existing regional services at risk and complicates plans for extra connections and denser timetables.

“The current development jeopardizes existing services in regional rail passenger transport and makes additional connections, denser timetables and service expansion harder.”

Tonne added that every additional euro spent on track fees would be unavailable for extra trains, better timetables or service improvements. Once costs keep rising at this level, the states and the bodies that commission regional services come under growing pressure, he said.

Federal reaction and what comes next

The federal transport ministry is working on a reform of track access charges. The states want certain rail infrastructure costs no longer refinanced through track fees. The federal transport minister is expected in Hohenschwangau on Thursday, 22 October, the second and final day of the conference, but he is not expected to bring money. Federal representatives at the conference had shown no willingness to relieve the states of the sharply rising fees for using the DB rail network. The motion aims to avoid cuts to timetables and higher ticket prices for rail passengers.