The need to renew Germany’s rail network is steadily climbing. In real terms, the investment backlog grew by another €2.6 billion in 2025, bringing the total deficit to €136.5 billion, according to “Tagesspiegel Background” which cited recent internal documents from DB InfraGO.
The backlog has risen consistently over the past few years. The most substantial jump in the last nine years occurred in 2024, when it climbed €6.9 billion to reach €134 billion. Together, the two previous years alone saw roughly €10 billion missing from the maintenance of Germany’s second‑most vital transport infrastructure.
New internal figures updated to 2024’s price level show that only in 2023 was there a modest decline of the backlog-down €500 million to €127.1 billion-before the more recent increases resumed.
