Developments in the relevant markets
German passenger transport
In respect of passenger transport, our objective is to maintain our strong market position in the rail and bus transport market in Germany in the long term.
| Passenger transport market in Germany / % based on volume sold | Growth rate | Market share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| Motorized individual transport | +0.9 | +0.9 | 83.0 | 83.0 |
| Rail passenger transport | +2.7 | +5.4 | 10.5 | 10.3 |
| DB Group | +2.7 | +2.1 | 8.1 | 8.0 |
| Non-Group railways | +2.6 | +18.1 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Public road passenger transport | –0.9 | +7.4 | 6.1 | 6.2 |
| DB Group | +0.9 | +4.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Air transport (domestic) | 0.0 | +3.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Overall market | +1.0 | +1.7 | – | – |
Figures are based on information and estimates available as of January 2026.
German passenger transport recorded another increase in volume sold in 2025. Growth varied in the individual market segments:
- Motorized individual transport (MIT) continued to see an increase in its volume sold in 2025. High fuel prices and a change in mobility behavior are curbing development.
- Domestic air transport in Germany in 2025 was roughly at the previous year’s level. High location costs are leading to massive supply-side reductions.
- Rail passenger transport again recorded an increase in volume sold in 2025, although the condition of the infrastructure prevented higher growth. Railʼs market share increased slightly.
- Despite the increase in the price of the Germany-Ticket, regional rail passenger transport continued to grow and thus contributed to the positive overall development of the rail sector.
- Long-distance rail passenger transport recovered from a decline in the previous year, which was mainly due to strikes, and saw significant growth in 2025. Service-related measures also contributed to the above-average growth.
- Public road passenger transport saw strike-related losses. Demand was also hampered by the reinforcement of the mobile working trend and the associated downturn of commuter travel.
- Long-distance bus transport declined in 2025, mainly due to their lack of participation in the Germany-Ticket.
German freight transport
| Freight transport market in Germany / % based on volume sold | Growth rate | Market share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| Rail freight transport | –3.6 | –0.9 | 19.5 | 19.9 |
| DB Group | –21.4 | –8.5 | 6.3 | 7.8 |
| Non-Group railways | +8.0 | +4.8 | 13.2 | 12.1 |
| Road freight transport | –1.0 | –1.3 | 71.4 | 70.9 |
| Inland waterways | –2.0 | +4.7 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| Long-distance pipelines | –5.6 | +6.2 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| Overall market | –1.7 | –0.6 | – | – |
Figures are based on information and estimates available as of February 2026. Volume sold in rail freight transport according to the Destatis definition of transport services that are primary freight carriers.
Freight transport in Germany declined in 2025. Industrial production recorded a negative trend for the fourth year in a row. Key sectors of German industry remained under considerable pressure. The automotive market was characterized by rising investments in connection with the transformation to climate neutrality, stagnating exports and job cuts. Persistently high costs, particularly as a result of higher energy prices, and export restrictions coupled with low demand are weighing on the chemical and steel industries. In addition, US tariffs and excess capacity from Asia had a dampening effect on export-oriented industries, particularly mechanical engineering and the steel industry. The economic weakness was reflected in transport performance. In addition, the individual modes of transport were confronted with specific constraints. Intensive construction activity limited the capacity of the rail network. At the same time, train-path prices were increased. Higher tolls also had a negative impact on road freight transport. The supply of cargo space declined due to the growing number of insolvencies. In inland waterway transport, low water levels and a decline in bulk goods transport had a negative impact on volume sold. The ongoing shortage of skilled labor across all modes of transport also had a negative impact.
In 2025, the rail freight transport market declined for the third successive year as a result of the ongoing economic weakness. Demand for transport from the steel industry and its entire value chain, from mining with coal, ores and coke to customer industries such as the automotive industry, fell significantly. Transports of chemical products also declined. Additionally, there were downturns in other product groups predisposed to rail transport, such as paper and building materials. Growth in combined transport, previously the most important growth segment in German rail freight transport, came to a standstill. In contrast, transports of petroleum products and other mineral products developed positively.
Overall, the modal split attributable to rail freight transport fell in 2025. Contrary to the trend in the overall market as a whole, non-Group railways recorded growth in volume sold and hence increased their market share.
Road freight transport in Germany also suffered from the economic weakness in 2025. In particular, the ongoing crisis in the construction industry, traditionally one of the strongest drivers of demand for heavy truck transport, had a dampening effect. The weak volume sold in road freight transport is also underlined by the toll statistics for heavy trucks. The mileage of vehicles subject to tolls with a technically permissible total weight of more than 7.5 t in 2025 was below the previous year’s level, particularly for domestic vehicles. This was due, among other things, to capacity bottlenecks as a result of increasing insolvencies among truck transport companies in Germany. As other modes of transport saw sharper declines than road freight transport, the latter was able to increase its market share slightly.
Inland waterway transport returned to a downward trend in 2025 following a moderate recovery in the previous year. The main reason for this was the persistently weak construction industry, which is a key driver of demand. This resulted in muted demand for transports. Transports of construction-related goods such as stones and earth also showed no signs of recovery in 2025. In addition, the volume sold for petroleum products, one of the most important groups of goods for inland waterway transport, declined. These developments were not entirely offset by a double-digit increase in demand for coal transport, which enjoyed an upturn at the start of the year due to lower electricity generation from renewable energies. Overall, inland waterway transport saw a slight reduction in market share in 2025.
European rail freight transport
Following a moderate decline in volume sold in European rail freight transport (EU 27, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom) in the previous year, a slight recovery was forecast for 2025, but this did not materialize due to the continued weak economic environment. The uncertainties caused by the ongoing geopolitical conflicts were exacerbated by new economic and trade policy measures. Unexpected and changing customs burdens affected industrial production and trade routes, including increasing pressure on imports to Europe. Sectors predisposed to rail transport, such as steel and automotive, suffered as a result of these uncertain and volatile conditions. Combined transport – actually the growth segment of rail freight transport in Europe – was also unable to escape the trend in 2025, seeing a downturn in volume sold.
| European rail freight transport market / % | Growth rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Volume sold (based on tkm) | –2.5 | –1.3 |
Figures are based on information and estimates available as of January 2026.
Rail infrastructure in Germany
With its integrated structure, DB Group assumes dual responsibility for rail as a mode of transport in Germany: DB Group is both the operator and the primary user of the rail infrastructure. The transposition into German law of the Railway Regulation Act (Eisenbahnregulierungsgesetz; ERegG), which in some cases goes beyond the minimum European requirements, and the strict regulatory practice of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur; BNetzA) – together with the statutory unbundling rules and DB Group’s internal rules of conduct – help to ensure the independence and competitive neutrality of the rail infrastructure.
| DB RAIL infrastructure in Germany selected key figures | 2025 | 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolute | % | |||
| Infrastructure customers | 524 | 460 | +64 | +13.9 |
| Intra-Group railways | 18 | 17 | +1 | +5.9 |
| Non-Group railways | 506 | 443 | +63 | +14.2 |
| Train-path demand (million train-path km) | 1,108 | 1,103 | +5 | +0.5 |
| Intra-Group railways | 653.3 | 654.0 | –0.7 | –0.1 |
| Non-Group railways | 455.0 | 448.7 | +6.3 | +1.4 |
| Share of non-Group railways (%) | 41.1 | 40.7 | +0.4 | – |
| Station stops (million) | 159.6 | 160.1 | –0.5 | –0.3 |
| Intra-Group railways | 111.9 | 110.8 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| Non-Group railways | 47.6 | 49.3 | –1.7 | –3.4 |
Individual figures are rounded and therefore may not add up.
Figures include Usedomer Bäderbahn (UBB). UBB is not part of DB InfraGO.
In 2025, train-path demand recovered from the impact of exceptional events in the previous year (GDL strikes and storms). However, sales growth is being curbed by the condition of the infrastructure and the associated high volume of construction work (e.g. modernization of the Hamburg—Berlin high-performance corridor). Weak economic development is also leading to declines in rail freight transport. The non-Group railways succeeded in expanding their market share further, while demand from intra-Group railways declined overall. Rail freight transport is the main driver for the decline in intra-Group demand. In rail passenger transport, on the other hand, the intra-Group train operating companies succeeded in slightly increasing their market share thanks to contract wins in regional rail passenger transport.
The development of station stops saw a slight decline overall. The increase in construction activity over the course of the year, the general operating situation and exceptional infrastructural disturbances led to a year-on-year reduction in the number of stops.