Call for more central government funding for German regional transport

Transport ministers from the German states are stepping up the pressure on the federal government to help them finance costly regional rail services. 

"We now have to absorb 8% increases for the coming year. That's money nobody has," Bavarian Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter told the Bild newspaper on Saturday.

"States such as Schleswig-Holstein have cancelled services," Bernreiter added. "After 2028, we in Bavaria will also face difficulties." 

Bernreiter is chairman of the Conference of Federal and State Transport Ministers, which is meeting on Wednesday and Thursday in Bavaria.

The background to the conflict is a ruling by the European Court of Justice, which in March overturned the track access charge cap, which had exempted local passenger rail operators from sharply rising train path prices.

Track access charges - effectively a rail toll - vary depending on the three types of transport: freight, long-distance and regional services. 

In local passenger rail transport, DB InfraGo - the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary responsible for the network - is seeking a 7.7% increase for 2027, with charges set to rise sharply again in 2028. These charges are used to help fund the operation, maintenance and investment in the rail network.

"Higher track access charges mean higher costs for transport operators and for the federal states that commission regional services. We're talking about several hundred million euros," said Bernreiter. 

The federal government must compensate for these costs, he said, "otherwise passengers would bear the brunt, and in the worst-case scenario, they would have to expect significant cuts to local services."