Germany’s national railway network is currently plagued by two primary issues: First the infrastructure is largely outdated and is in dire need of comprehensive, and expensive, upgrades.
Second, the government’s insistence on sticking to the debt brake (Schuldenbremse) - a cap on government borrowing that's enshrined in Germany's constitution - means that the funding to do so isn’t immediately available.
These two factors are on a collision course, and the most plausible outcome is that rail travel becomes more expensive for everyone – including freight rail companies, and long-distance and regional passengers.
Here’s the current plan, and why it means steeper ticket prices for you - unless plans change.
Funded by loans and ‘rail tolls’
Put simply, the federal government says it doesn’t have room in its budget to fully fund Deutsche Bahn’s (DB) badly needed rail makeover.
Whereas a €5.9 billion direct investment in the rail network was planned, funding for the renovations will now be provided via reallocations of the federally owned DB as well as billions in loans.
But crucially, DB will need to pay interest on those loans.
And to finance that interest, it will likely increase so-called track access prices - a kind of rail toll - which would result in higher costs for transport companies and therefore higher ticket prices for passengers.
READ ALSO: Why Germany may have to re-negotiate its 2025 budget
Price increases 'near 20 percent' in 2026
Track access prices are collected by InfraGo, which is the rail infrastructure division of DB.
InfraGo has announced plans to drastically increase track access prices in 2026.
The biggest increase would be applied to regional transport, with an increase of 23.5 percent, according to the track price information published by the company this week.
For passengers this means that regional train (RE) ticket prices could be expected to increase significantly.
READ ALSO: 'There will be an increase': How much could Germany's Deutschlandticket cost in 2025?
Considering rail prices overall, they can be expected to increase by 19.1 percent overall: Long-distance transport would increase 10.1 percent, and freight transport would increase 14.8 percent.
The weight of these increases would affect long-distance passenger ticket prices, and the price of goods transported by rail, respectively.
The Federal Network Agency has already approved increases in track access prices for long-distance and freight transport in 2025.
Whereas regional transport track prices are currently capped. With the increase set for 2026, DB assumes that this cap will be overturned by the courts.
Initial reactions
Industry insiders expressed initial alarm at the plan. "There is a risk of less rail traffic for more money," said Sarah Stark, Managing Director of the German Railway Industry Association.
She added that this shows the importance of creating “...a Modern Rail Act to create a years-long financing plan for a rail fund."
North Rhine-Westphalia Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens), suggested that increasing track access prices for local transport by more than 20 percent would have serious consequences.
"Essential parts of local transport will no longer take place. The consequences are more car traffic, more traffic jams and worse climate impacts by the transport sector," Krischer said.
"The usual construction cost subsidies to finance the infrastructure would avoid this," said Peter Westenberger, managing director of the Association of Freight Railways.
Unfortunately, as long as the German Finance Ministry maintains its steadfast conviction to maintain the debt brake, those subsidies are off the table.
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With reporting by DPA.
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