Increased railway fares are suspected to decelerate passenger traffic.
Various regional transport authorities have raised concerns about Infrago's proposal to elevate the fees for utilizing their tracks, with fears that it could impact the financing of local transport and make public transportation less appealing. "A substantial rise in track charges will hinder the shift towards sustainable transportation," said Oliver Krischer, the transport minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and current chair of the transport ministers' conference (VMK). This issue is also being debated at the two-day VMK conference commencing on Wednesday in Duisburg.
Krischer, a Green Party politician, predicated that an increase in track fees would make significant portions of public transportation less attractive, leading to an upsurge in private vehicle usage, resulting in increased traffic congestion and a deterioration in the environmental impact of transportation. An increase of over 20% in track fees for North Rhine-Westphalia alone would result in additional financial burdens in the hundreds of millions of euros. "At this juncture, the federal government should display a willingness to discuss adequate funding for public transportation," Krischer suggested.
This funding could be secured by means of a new financing instrument, such as a special fund, according to Krischer. The states plan to exert pressure on the federal government at the Duisburg conference to establish a multi-billion-euro special fund to finance Germany's aging transportation infrastructure.
States express concerns
Recently, other federal states have also voiced criticism of the proposed rise in track fees. "If these increases are implemented, the financing of regional transportation in all states will be on the line," warned Brandenburg's transport minister, Rainer Genilke. At the end of September, Schleswig-Holstein's CDU transport minister, Claus Ruhe Madsen, asserted, "It's unacceptable for the railway to extend its hand while our tracks fall into disrepair."
The states intend to express their dissatisfaction regarding the planned significant increases in track fees by Infrago at the transport ministers' conference. These increases would primarily affect regional transportation, for which Infrago has submitted a request for an increase of 23.5% to the Federal Network Agency. Passengers may face higher fares and reduced services as a result of the planned track fees, which still require approval from the Federal Network Agency.
All entities using the railway infrastructure are required to pay the track access charge, including Deutsche Bahn's own transportation companies. The revenue generated from track fees is utilized, among other purposes, to finance the operating costs, maintenance, and investment contributions of the company in the more than 33,000-kilometer-long railway network in Germany.
The proposed increase in track fees by Infrago could negatively impact the economy of various states, as stated by Brandenburg's transport minister, Rainer Genilke, who warned that the financing of regional transportation in all states could be at risk. This concern is further compounded by Schleswig-Holstein's CDU transport minister, Claus Ruhe Madsen, who finds it unacceptable for the railway to extend its hand while the tracks fall into disrepair, suggesting a potential economic downturn due to increased operational costs for public transportation.
