Track access charges (TAC) are the fees that railway undertakings pay infrastructure managers for using the rail network. The infrastructure manager sets them within a charging framework defined by the member state and publishes them in its network statement.
Under the Recast Directive, track access charges for the minimum access package must be set at the cost that is directly incurred as a result of operating the train service. The minimum access package covers the right to use the allocated path and the infrastructure it requires.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/909 sets out how the direct cost is calculated. Costs that do not vary with traffic, such as fixed maintenance and financing costs, cannot be included.
Mark-ups and other components
A member state may allow mark-ups on top of the direct cost to recover more of the infrastructure manager’s costs, if the market can bear them. Mark-ups must be efficient, transparent and non-discriminatory, and interpretative guidelines adopted by the European Commission in May 2025 state that they must not become a barrier to market entry.
Charges can also include a scarcity charge on congested lines, reservation charges for capacity that is allocated but not used and a performance scheme that rewards punctuality. Noise-differentiated charges, set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/429, reward wagons fitted with quieter brake blocks.
Charge levels differ between networks, and for operators they are a large part of operating costs. The national regulatory body hears complaints from railway undertakings about charges and can order changes.