DB Group

Implementation of common good-oriented infrastructure

DB InfraGO AG has been DB Group’s common good-oriented infrastructure subsidiary since the end of 2023:

• On December 27, 2023, DB Netz AG was renamed as DB InfraGO AG following its registration in the trade register.
• At the same time, DB Station&Service AG was merged into DB InfraGO AG.

The track infrastructure has thus been managed, planned and further developed from a single source since 2024. The quality, capacity and stability of rail operations are to be sustainably improved. The underlying reform package comprises five pillars:

• The first pillar is the overall content-related program for the new management of the infrastructure with the following areas of action: availability and operations, creation of the high-performance network, maintenance and modernization of the other parts of the network, rapid capacity expansion, consistent digitalization, stations of the future, efficient service facilities as well as expansion/new construction and electrification. The new management regime is intended to reverse the trend in terms of aging and quality of the rail network and stations. By 2030, this is expected to create noticeably more robustness and capacity.
• The second pillar is the creation of the necessary legal bases, in particular making the financing regulations more flexible through a reform of the German Federal Rail Infrastructure Extension Act. The amendment to the BSWAG came into force on July 9, 2024. Further measures to strengthen rail were to be implemented with the Modern Rail Act, which, however, was no longer passed due to the early elections in this legislature (Implementation of the Rail Acceleration Commission).
• By way of the fourth pillar, the Federal Government intends to further develop the management of infrastructure. The Infraplan is a central management tool. The Infraplan is intended to present measures, strategies and overarching goals for infrastructure development on a rolling basis for a period of five years – including key figures and documentation of progress.

The institutionalized involvement of the industry in the work of DB InfraGO takes place via the Sector Advisory Board, which was constituted on March 25, 2024. The aims entail increasing transparency and participation as well as the exchange of expertise. The new Sector Advisory Board has replaced the existing advisory boards, the Network Advisory Board and the Station Advisory Board. The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (Bundes­ministerium für Digitales und Verkehr; BMDV) operates the branch office of the Sector Advisory Council.

• The fifth pillar involves the organizational merger of DB Netz AG and DB Station&Service AG. DB InfraGO has subsequently developed a 2030 mission statement. The mission statement describes the requirements for DB InfraGO to achieve its corporate and political targets. To implement the modernization of the infrastructure even more efficiently, DB InfraGO is to be organizationally adapted. This aims to achieve a significant increase in effectiveness and speed, particularly through capacity bundling, simplified commissioning and standardized technology and maintenance. Key decisions made in 2024 in this context are:
  • DB Kommunikationstechnik GmbH is to merge with DB InfraGO AG in mid-2025.
  • DB Projekt Stuttgart — Ulm GmbH is to become a subsidiary of DB InfraGO AG in 2025.
  • The planning and construction acceptance testing division, which is currently part of DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH, will in future be assigned to DB In­­­­­­fraGO AG.

Development of the Federal budget for rail

Implementation of the Rail Acceleration Commission

On December 13, 2022, the Rail Acceleration Commission presented its final report under the direction of the BMDV. The Commission makes comprehensive recommendations for action to speed up planning, approval and construction processes in rail transport and to further develop financing processes. It proposes creating a high-performance network through the general modernization of highly utilized lines. The Commission has developed a proposal list of 89 measures that can be implemented in the short-term, focusing on track change facilities. Faster approval processes are to be achieved, in particular, through legislation modeled on the energy sector. To reduce the complexity of financing the track infrastructure, a new financing architecture is recommended that combines financing sources and uses partly additional income from truck tolls. On April 24, 2024, the BMDV presented the second progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Acceleration Commission. Accordingly, 38 recommendations are currently being implemented or have already been fully implemented. The implementation of 32 further recommendations is being prepared. Several of the recommendations require amendments to existing laws. Some recommendations of the Rail Acceleration Commission have already been taken into account in legislative procedures. This includes the implementation of the sublime public interest for numerous infrastructure projects (including all projects in the rail requirement plan and the Municipal Transport Financing Act) in the Approval Acceleration Act, which came into force at the end of 2023. The truck toll was also expanded and adjusted so that its income will now also be used proportionately for Federal infrastructure.

Further legislative recommendations of the Rail Acceleration Commission were implemented in the form of the resolutions on the Federal Rail Infrastructure Expansion Act (Bundesschienenwegeausbaugesetz; BSWAG) and the Fourth Bureaucracy Reduction Act (BEG IV). The BEG IV contains measures to accelerate planning for rail, which also provide for the adoption of administrative regulations. An initial regulation was adopted by the Federal Government in February 2025. It now requires the approval of the Upper House of Parliament (Bundesrat). The Modern Railway Act recommended by the Acceleration Commission for the bundled implementation of its proposals was not implemented by the current Federal Government.

Amendment of the German Climate Protection Law

The amendment to the Federal Climate Protection Law came into force on July 17, 2024. Germany’s climate protection targets remain unchanged: by 2030, the reduction is expected to be 65% compared to 1990 and 88% by 2040, and net greenhouse gas neutrality is expected to be reached by 2045.

All sectors are considered across the board and in a multi-year, forward-looking overall account. If the projection data shows a missed target in total annual emissions for two consecutive years, the Federal Government must work out measures to achieve the target.

Passenger transport

Germany-Ticket

The Germany-Ticket, which is valid nationwide for local public transport, was introduced on May 1, 2023, at a price of € 49 per month. The interim results after about one and a half years show a high level of acceptance among customers and intensive use with about 13 million monthly users. The ticket has increased the frequency of public transport use and the distance traveled. In the fourth quarter of 2024, about 13% of journeys with a Germany-Ticket replaced other means of transport, thereof about 8% were from motorized private transport. The German Parliament and the Upper House of Parliament (Bundesrat) passed an amendment to the Regionalization Act on December 20, 2024. The amendment to the law was required to enable the transferability of regionalization funds to compensate for the loss of revenues from the Germany-Ticket for the years 2023 to 2025. The financing of the Germany-Ticket for 2025 has been secured with the passing of the law. A long-term financing perspective for the Deutschland-Ticket from 2026 is pending. On September 23, 2024, the transport ministers of the Federal states also decided to increase the price of the Germany-Ticket from January 1, 2025. The price increases by € 9 to € 58 per month. The price increase was implemented because the € 1.5 billion per year from the Federal Government and Federal states is no longer sufficient to compensate for the loss of revenues from the Germany-Ticket from 2025 on.

Infrastructure

In addition to the developments described above, such as those relating to the Federal budget and common good-oriented infrastructure, several legislative processes are relevant to the field of infrastructure, which are explained below.

Amendment to the Federal Rail Infrastructure Extension Act

The Fourth Act Amending the Federal Rail Infrastructure Expansion Act (BSWAG) came into force on July 9, 2024. The BSWAG is the legal basis for capital expenditures in Federal rail infrastructure. The amendment removes existing capital expenditure barriers and strengthens the performance capability and availability of track infrastructure. Specifically, new financing options are being created by opening up public funding to non-capital expenditure elements. In the future, for example, maintenance expenses could also be subsidized by the Federal Government, as could one-time expenses (e.g. dismantling, IT services) and follow-up costs for measures initiated by the Federal Government. It agreed on cost sharing for rail replacement services as part of general modernizations, the possibility of funding for equipping vehicles with digital (ETCS) on-board equipment, the ability to fund concourse buildings (exclusion of commercial spaces) and clarifications on the use of funds in the context of general modernizations.

Germany pact for the acceleration of planning

On November 6, 2023, the leaders of the Federal states and the German Chancellor agreed on a pact to accelerate planning, approval and implementation. The pact contains numerous measures, some of which are in line with the recommendations of the Rail Acceleration Commission. To implement the pact, further acceleration legislation is to be introduced accordingly. The first legislative measures of the pact with relevance for rail were implemented as part of the amendment to the Federal Immission Control Act (Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz; BImSchG). This will make it easier for DB Group to start construction work early in individual cases. In June 2024, the Federal Government and the Federal states published their first monitoring report on the implementation of the Germany Pact. In addition to the Modern Rail Act, it also announced simplifications for rail in procurement law. A draft of a corresponding procurement transformation package, which provides for simplifications, including the obligation to split lots, was approved by the Federal Cabinet on November 27, 2024. This law was not passed in the past legislative period.

Strengthening critical infrastructures

There are two EU directives on strengthening resilience that should have passed into national law by October 17, 2024: the CER Directive on the physical protection of critical infrastructures and the NIS2 Directive on strengthening cybersecurity. Due to the new Government elections in February 2025, it is unclear when the directives will pass into national laws. Both legislative projects – the KRITIS Umbrella Act for the implementation of the CER Directive and the NIS2 Implementation Act – mean increasing requirements and obligations for the affected DB Group companies, such as registration, risk assessment, verification and reporting obligations.

Freight transport

Implementation of master plan for rail freight transport

The implementation of the Master Plan for Rail Freight Transport in accordance with the current procedure will be pursued further. Important issues for rail freight transport are the prorated funding of train-path and facility prices, the Federal Future of Rail Freight Transport program, the Funding Guidelines for Railway Sidings and the Combined Transport Funding Guidelines.

On June 28, 2024, the BMDV created the legal basis for an extension of the prorated train-path price support in rail freight transport. The new period runs from June 28, 2024, to November 30, 2028. About € 229 million has been made available for this in the Federal budget for 2024.

On November 12, 2024, the European Commission approved the continuation of the Federal Future of Rail Freight Transport program. This means that the amended guidelines for the Federal Future of Rail Freight Transport program to promote innovation (Zukunft Schienengüterverkehr; Z-SGV) can enter into force on January 1, 2025, and run until the end of 2029. With the Z-SGV, ideas for modernization in rail freight transport in the areas of digitalization, automation and vehicle technology are to be rendered applicable and placed on the market more quickly.

Support of single wagon transport

On May 21, 2024, the European Commission approved the Directive on Support for Operating Expenses in Single Wagon Transport. Grants totaling € 1.7 billion were approved over a period of five years until 2029. For 2024, just under € 300 million was available for the sector from the Federal budget. Support for this transport has been provided since July 1, 2024. The grant notifications for funding lines 1 (domestic services) and 2 (bundled services and direct services up to 300 km) were sent out by the Federal Railway Authority (Eisenbahn-Bundesamt; EBA) in the fall of 2024. The facility price support, which also serves to strengthen single wagon transport, was allocated € 20 million in 2024, meaning that a total of almost € 320 million was available for the support of single wagon transport in the 2024 Federal budget.

Rail Noise Protection Act

The act came into force at the schedule change on December 15, 2024, and replaced the previous Rail Noise Protection Act. With the new act, a general operating ban on freight cars with gray cast iron brake shoes applies on the “quieter lines” in Germany. These trains are about 10 decibels louder than those with quiet braking systems. “Quieter lines” are all lines on which an average of more than 12 freight trains run at night. This means that all main rail lines in Germany are among the quieter routes.