German industry warns higher rail fees could hurt climate goals

Higher railway track access charges could push German companies to shift freight transport back to roads, jeopardising climate goals, business leaders warned in magazine Der Spiegel. “If rail becomes too expensive, companies will shift freight back to roads – undermining the coalition’s own climate goals and increasing emissions,” said Sabine Nallinger, head of the German CEO Alliance for Climate and Economy, an alliance including more than 30 companies. 

Germany’s rail access fee – a toll paid by operators to use the national network – is set to rise 7.5 percent to just over 4 euros per kilometre in January 2026, after a 16.2-percent increase earlier this year. Deutsche Bahn and its competitors pass those costs to industrial clients, such as chemicals company BASF, which said the latest hike would cost millions of euros. 

While rail freight is one of the greenest ways to move cargo, its market share in Germany has stalled and operators are struggling financially, even as less climate-friendly trucking and air transport expand. Higher track charges would hit hardest the companies facing international competition and that have committed long-term to rail transport, Nallinger told Der Spiegel, calling for the government to act quickly to increase subsidies for rail track chargers.

Plans to make transport more climate-friendly in Germany by shifting more freight and passengers onto rail face broader challenges as the country’s railways struggle with chronic delays and underinvestment. Transport minister Patrick Schnieder has pledged a 100-billion-euro investment in the rail network by 2029. The strategy focuses on maintaining and upgrading existing lines, particularly those serving rural areas. Deutsche Bahn plans to modernise 24 major routes by 2030 and all 42 by 2036. But the minister also warned that construction work would initially worsen delays before improvements take effect.

Train travel in Europe remains costlier than flying on most routes, according to a recent Greenpeace report, which blamed tax breaks for airlines. Aviation fuel is untaxed across the EU and international tickets are exempt from VAT, while rail operators face high track access fees and energy taxes.