EU Commission approves German rail freight scheme for 1.7 billion euros

The European Commission (EC) approved a scheme for 1.7 billion euros to support single wagonload and wagon group transport in Germany until 2029. “The maximum annual budget amounts to €320 million”, the EC specified. The measure aims at ensuring that these types of transport and the companies operating them do not cease to exist due to their economic struggles.

Wagon group transport is defined as trains that keep “the same composition from the origin to the destination and is eligible under the scheme for journeys up to a maximum distance of 300 km if operated by short block trains with up to 15 wagons”. This is not a very profitable segment, as it deals with lower number of wagons and shorter distances.

Single wagonload is not profitable as it includes various switching and shunting procedures, which increase costs. For this specific sector, the German government already approved 300 million euros in its budget for the 2024-2027 period. However, concerns remained as some members of the industry say that single wagonload needs more support.