German rail freight operators face track access charges 75% higher from the December timetable change, according to industry association Die Güterbahnen, after a 1 October ruling by the Cologne Administrative Court overturned the regulator's cost cap on DB InfraGO.

The court reversed a decision by the Federal Network Agency that had set the infrastructure manager's total cost ceiling — the maximum revenue it can recover through track access charges (TAC) — at roughly €7.3 billion in June. The ceiling now stands at around €8.2 billion.

That gap of nearly €1 billion allows DB InfraGO to raise charges further, by at least 12.5% in the standard segment. Freight operators are expected to absorb increases well beyond that figure.

Why did the court overturn the regulator's cap?

The Cologne court ruled that the Federal Network Agency was wrong to reduce the total cost ceiling because it had factored in a cost-reducing subsidy agreement between DB InfraGO and the federal government. That agreement is not yet in place; it is expected only at the end of 2026. The regulator therefore could not count it in the ceiling calculation.

How much more will operators pay?

The ruling's financial impact compounds a separate cut in TAC subsidies planned for the next timetable year. Germany will reduce those subsidies from €345 million to €200 million.

Die Güterbahnen, the branch association representing rail freight operators, calculates that when the timetable changes in December, freight operators can expect to pay 75% more in track access charges than in the current timetable year.

What did the industry say?

Neele Wesseln, Managing Director of Die Güterbahnen, said: "This decision reflects a systemic failure: Despite promises, the federal government has failed to reform the track access charge system, forcing political disputes to be settled in court."

She added: "The Federal Network Agency at least attempted to limit the enormous cost increases of InfraGO and thus the jumps in track access charges, but current legislation prevents this. As a result, ever-increasing federal funds and sharply rising track access charge revenues are disappearing into a black hole of personnel and construction costs, without railway companies receiving any improvement to the network."

What happens next?

Wesseln warned that if Germany takes no action to reform the TAC system, traffic will decrease further and exacerbate the problem.

The subsidy agreement between DB InfraGO and the federal government, expected at the end of 2026, may allow the regulator to revisit the cost ceiling calculation in a future determination — but for the coming timetable year, operators face the December increase with no legislative relief in sight.