The Bavarian state government is calling for stricter rules for long-distance transport in the Federal Council

Disadvantages for train commuters, poorer connections for medium-sized cities and ticket problems? The Bavarian state government fears many disadvantages from more competition in long-distance transport. She wants to counteract this with an initiative in the Federal Council.

“It is clear to everyone that the German rail network is not in a good condition. At the moment, there is no room for further growth in long-distance transport – especially if only short routes are to be served,” said Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU), according to the statement. “People must be able to rely on not being left behind by national rail transport, even outside the big cities.” Even medium-sized cities would have to continue to be served by long-distance transport.

The Federal Network Agency decided in mid-July that the infrastructure subsidiary of the federally owned Deutsche Bahn DB InfraGo must allocate at least a quarter of the capacity on heavily used routes to competitors. There are now legal disputes over this issue. The background is the planned market entry of the Italian railway company Italo into German long-distance transport.

“Largely public property”

“The rail network is largely public property and must be used in the best possible way for everyone,” added Bernreiter. “Passenger orientation” must take precedence over “profit maximization”.

If long-distance transport takes priority on important routes, there is a risk of disadvantages for local transport users. This is shown by the current plans for the Augsburg-Munich route, explained Bernreiter: local traffic is planned to be halved during rush hour, but at the same time more long-distance trains are to run there.

How will the tickets work?

And: Clear rules are needed to ensure that passengers do not have any disadvantages when purchasing tickets. “It is currently a big plus that you can book flexible tickets and train connections are canceled in the event of disruptions.” It must stay that way - even if there are more providers on the long-distance transport market. The initiative is now being discussed in the committees.