DB InfraGO wants EUR 112m more a year
GERMANY: DB InfraGO has applied to raise freight track charges 12.6% for 2027, industry association Die Güterbahnen said, putting the sector’s extra cost at around EUR 112m a year.
The charge for a standard freight train would rise from EUR 3.48 to EUR 3.92 per kilometre. DB InfraGO has not commented publicly on the association’s figures.
The company’s own lawsuit against its regulator over the cost ceiling beneath the prices rules out an approved price before mid-December, the association says. The new timetable begins on 13 December.
Full story: DB InfraGO wants EUR 112m more a year from rail freight
Go deeper:
Suing the regulator. Billing the rivals.
Germany’s state-owned infrastructure manager is suing the state’s own regulator in three court cases at once – over capacity rules, its cost ceiling and station charges. All three sit with the administrative court in Cologne.
Both the ceiling and the 2027 charges hinge on federal maintenance funding that has not been agreed.
DB InfraGO owns and prices the network inside the state-owned Deutsche Bahn group, the same group that runs the country’s biggest train operators. The freight operators paying most of a higher charge are DB’s competitors.
Full story: DB InfraGO against its regulator: three fronts, one missing number
Gotthard wagon rules fail on procedure
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Administrative Court has annulled the freight wagon rules the Federal Office of Transport (BAV) imposed after the 2023 Gotthard Base Tunnel derailment. The office skipped the EU notification procedure required for national rules and must now decide again.
The judgments, published on 21 August, strike out the decision that set a minimum wheel diameter of 864 mm for certain wheelset types and fixed inspection intervals and control requirements for wagons running in Switzerland.
The requirements go beyond the harmonised EU rules for cross-border wagon use, which Swiss railway law makes binding. National requirements are allowed, but only through a set procedure that includes notification.
Full story: Court annuls Swiss wagon rules imposed after Gotthard derailment
Eurostar appeals Virgin’s HS1 clearance
UK: Eurostar has formally appealed the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) pre-approval of Virgin Trains’ access agreement for High Speed 1 (HS1), calling the process non-transparent and discriminatory.
Eurostar says the line’s infrastructure manager is reserving capacity for Virgin ahead of other applicants. It filed on 14 August, the day after ORR took its decision and three days before the regulator published it.
Virgin and infrastructure manager London St Pancras Highspeed have until 4 September to enter into the agreement. Virgin Group called the appeal regrettable, predictable and without merit; ORR said it remained satisfied that the pre-approval was appropriate.
Full story: Eurostar appeals Virgin’s HS1 access approval
Anonymous tip is the last obstacle to Czech record rail contract
CZECHIA: Nobody appealed České dráhy’s win of the 30-year Prague commuter contract before the deadline expired on 21 August. Before signing, the contract still needs two political approvals and faces an anonymous tip at the competition office alleging that the tender favoured the state operator.
The tip cites the 30-year term and the absence of any financial product able to fund such a period; the office has opened no proceedings on it. The Central Bohemian regional assembly votes on the contract on 7 September.
Srbijavoz signs Siemens deal for six Vectron locomotives
SERBIA: State passenger operator Srbijavoz has signed a EUR 35.35m contract with Siemens Mobility Austria for six Vectron multi-system electric locomotives, due for delivery in June and July 2027 for services to Budapest.
The contract was signed in Belgrade on 18 August; the price excludes VAT and covers eight years of maintenance and driver training.
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