DB chief sharpens warning on Italo’s German entry
GERMANY: “Uncontrolled competition.” That was DB chief executive Evelyn Palla’s warning to the German government on 2 June — sharpening a position DB InfraGO chief Philipp Nagl staked out two days earlier.
Palla called on the government to establish clearer political frameworks for open-access competition, warning that without them the benefits of rail liberalisation would reach only metropolitan travellers already well served by existing connections.
Nagl had argued on 31 May that a short-term new services clause being discussed as a priority mechanism for Italo carries extreme legal risk. No comparable instrument exists elsewhere in Europe, he said.
Two warnings, one decision pending
The clause under discussion — a Neuverkehrsklausel — would adjust how track capacity is allocated to prevent new entrants from being systematically disadvantaged against established operators. Nagl warned that granting access under such a mechanism risks allocating capacity under rules courts could strike down as EU-unlawful within 18 months.
Palla’s argument runs on different ground. Deutsche Bahn holds around 95% of the German long-distance market. Her concern is not legal procedure but connectivity: that competition concentrated on the most profitable corridors leaves thinner routes commercially exposed.
The two positions are separate. Palla speaks for DB AG. Nagl speaks for DB InfraGO, the infrastructure manager formally independent of the operating group. Neither position is the other’s.
Minister, regulator and a mid-June deadline
Federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder has publicly welcomed Italo’s planned entry — placing him at odds with both DB entities on the question of pace and mechanism.
FlixTrain has objected to Italo’s long-term track access terms. If Bundesnetzagentur adopts a Neuverkehrsklausel that prioritises Italo, FlixTrain has both the standing and the incentive to challenge the decision in court. A successful challenge would not just delay Italo — it would extend the legal uncertainty Nagl warned against.
Germany discontinued long-term framework access contracts in 2017. A new EU regulatory framework — the Capacity Management Regulation — does not come into force until 2031.
Bundesnetzagentur is expected to rule in mid-June.