Ahead of the special conference of transport ministers scheduled for Thursday, the federal states are increasing pressure on the new Federal Transport Minister, Steffen Bilger (CDU), concerning the so-called track access fees.
Petra Berg (SPD), a departmental head from Saarland, told the “Rheinische Post” that Bilger must immediately make this issue a top priority. She warned that a failure to act would lead to an absurd situation: while citizens possess the Deutschlandticket, no trains would run on the tracks-a situation she described as a “sign of utter failure.”
The pressure stems from the European Court of Justice’s ruling in March, which declared the price cap on track access for local rail passenger transport illegal. This ruling is imposing additional costs into the hundreds of millions nationwide on regional transport. Berg noted that several states were already preparing to cancel train connections due to the pending financial burden.
The states have presented concrete proposals to the federal government, demanding that the federal level fully absorb these extra costs, increase regionalization funds based on necessity, and implement a permanent reform of the track pricing system. “The federal government cannot simply dump the costs of its infrastructure onto the states and the passengers,” Berg insisted.
The debate over these track access fees is a central item on the agenda for the video special conference. Additionally, the meeting is expected to address the current low water levels, a topic brought up by North Rhine-Westphalia.
