German operators demand corridor detour costs be covered in DB funding deal

Germany’s rail freight operators are demanding federal compensation for diversions forced by the Generalsanierung corridor renovation programme, which they estimate will cost more than €100 million this year. Their association Die Güterbahnen wants around €15 per train-km and penalties for DB InfraGO’s overruns paid to operators, both written into the infrastructure manager’s next funding agreement.

Members of Die Güterbahnen, the association of Germany’s private operators, unanimously adopted a resolution at their general assembly in Frankfurt am Main on 3 November. It calls on the federal government to compensate industry and railways for the damage caused by the corridor closures, using the programme’s own project budgets.

Under the proposals, the federal government would fund both from the corridor renovation budget, with the rules set out in the Leistungsvereinbarung InfraGO (LV InfraGO), its new performance agreement with DB InfraGO.

So far, operators and their industrial customers have borne the extra costs themselves. Die Güterbahnen estimates them at more than €100 million for 2026 and around €53 million for 2027. It says existing contractual penalties go to the federal government rather than to the companies that suffer the damage.

This story was originally published by RailFreight.com. Read the full story at RailFreight.com →