Regulation
Changes in the legal framework at the national or European level can give rise to business risks. Regulation can have a significant impact on revenues and profitability.
These regulations govern, among other things, the individual components of the pricing systems and general terms and conditions applied by our rail infrastructure companies. There are risks of complaints and intervention in this regard. Measures that threaten or even prevent DB Group from attaining reasonable yields in its infrastructure business units (such as an intervention in pricing systems) can therefore threaten financing contributions by DB Group to capital expenditures in infrastructure. With the amendment of the Railway Regulation Act (Eisenbahnregulierungsgesetz; ERegG) at the end of 2025, the permissible rate of return on equity for operators of Federal railways was reduced to 1.9 %.
The rising costs and prices of infrastructure continue to place significant burdens on TOCs in long-distance and freight transport. One of the reasons for this is the legal cap on fee increases in regional rail transport. Under the ERegG, the adjustment of regional rail transport fees is linked to the indexation of regionalization funds and has remained significantly below the general rate of cost inflation in recent years. As a result, this linking has led to a disproportionately sharp increase in train-path fees for long-distance and freight transport. In the 2025 schedule year, fare increases amounted to 16.2 % for freight transport and 17.7 % for long-distance transport. Grants to mitigate these effects were included in the 2025 Federal budget.
The costs of the equity measures for DB InfraGO AG were factored into the 2026 train-path pricing system. The Federal Government and DB Group have established a compensation mechanism through grants for maintenance expenses which – together with the reduction of the return on equity to 1.9 % – mitigates the cost impact and thus reduces the additional burden on the TOCs. As a result, a moderate fare increase of 2.4 % overall was achieved for 2026, comprising a decrease of 1.2 % for long-distance rail passenger transport, an increase of 6.1 % for rail freight transport and an increase of 3.0 % for regional rail passenger transport in accordance with statutory fee linkage. In addition, the 2026 Federal budget includes funding for train-path price support for long-distance and freight transport.
The legality of this regional rail passenger transport fee linkage is currently under review. In mid-April 2024, DB InfraGO filed an appeal against the determination of fare structures for regional rail passenger transport in the 2025 TPS pursuant to Section 37 (2) ERegG in conjunction with Section 5 (10) of the Regionalization Act (Regionalisierungsgesetz; RegG). Several access right holders have also filed complaints. In the DB InfraGO case, the Administrative Court (VG) of Cologne referred the question of the admissibility of regional rail fee linkage to the European Court of Justice (ECJ): the Administrative Court (VG) of Cologne is of the view that the method of calculating fees for regional rail transport specified in the ERegG unlawfully restricts DB InfraGO’s scope of action under EU law and violates its right to independent management as established in the Recast Directive. If regional rail fee linkage were found to be contrary to European law, linkage to the fixed statutory factor could be eliminated. This could lead to a sharp increase in regional rail passenger transport train-path usage fees and, without compensatory measures, would place a considerable burden on the Federal states’ budget for ordering regional rail passenger transport services, which could result in significant economic risks for DB Regional. The European Court of Justice has announced that its ruling is set to be handed down on March 19, 2026.
To limit the burden of fees and avoid further significant price risks, a reform of the fee regulation framework is necessary. Such a reform is outlined as a project in the Federal Government’s coalition agreement. The goal must be to ensure predictable and stable fare developments, with costs allocated fairly among the various modes of transport.
Risks unrelated to fare developments relate in particular to the tightening of existing standards and regulations affecting the railways. If political or regulatory risks occur, countermeasures are implemented at the corporate level, where possible, in order to minimize the potential negative effects on corporate goals and traffic growth.
Opportunities arise from the promotion of low-emissions mobility and logistics – including efforts to meet Government climate protection targets – the improvement of the infrastructure financing scope and measures to reduce bureaucracy.