The planned entry of Italian rail operator Italo into Germany’s long-distance market is sparking debate. While more competition could bring lower prices and better services, the EVG rail union warns of consequences for smaller cities. According to its analysis, at least 16 places could lose ICE or IC stops if new providers focus mainly on the most profitable main routes.
The planned entry of Italian rail operator Italo into Germany’s long-distance market is intensifying the debate over competition on the rails. Italo wants to launch its own high-speed trains in Germany from 2028 and focus mainly on heavily used routes. Planned connections include routes between Munich, Dortmund, Hamburg and Berlin.
What initially sounds like more choice, modern trains and potential price advantages for passengers is causing alarm at Deutsche Bahn and the EVG railway and transport union. According to an EVG analysis reported by several media outlets, at least 16 smaller cities could lose long-distance stops if private operators primarily occupy the most profitable main corridors.
The accusation is that new competitors could focus on especially lucrative routes, while less profitable stops outside the major hubs come under pressure. EVG chairman Martin Burkert has warned of »cherry-picking« and sees a risk that long-distance rail services in Germany could become even more fragmented.
More competition — but for whom?
The conflict touches on a fundamental question in the German rail market. Competition can lead to better services, lower prices and more customer orientation. In Italy, Italo itself is often cited as an example of how private competition can invigorate high-speed rail. There, the company competes with the state operator Trenitalia and has noticeably changed the market.
Germany, however, is more complicated. The network is heavily used, many hubs are overcrowded, construction works are disrupting operations, and Deutsche Bahn also uses revenues from attractive long-distance routes to support less profitable connections. If competitors mainly run on the most profitable tracks, this system could come under pressure.
That is precisely the point of the EVG’s warning. The union fears that Deutsche Bahn could lose market share on lucrative routes and then cut connections outside the major corridors. The places affected would not be the big metropolitan centers, but smaller and medium-sized cities that still benefit from ICE or IC services today.
Deutsche Bahn calls for managed competition
Deutsche Bahn has also been warning for weeks against unmanaged competition in long-distance rail. CEO Evelyn Palla has emphasized that the company is not fundamentally opposed to competition. But competition must be organized in a way that does not strengthen only metropolitan areas while weakening more rural regions.
At the core of the dispute are train paths, meaning the rights to use parts of the rail network at specific times. Italo wants to secure long-term access to attractive routes. Germany’s Federal Network Agency now has to decide on the framework. Much is at stake: for Italo, planning security is crucial because the company wants to invest billions and deploy 30 new Siemens trains. For Deutsche Bahn, the issue is the structure of its long-distance network.
The dispute shows that rail competition is not simply the same as more trains. When the network is scarce, every train path determines who can operate, when services run and which cities remain connected.
Smaller cities fear losing connections
For affected cities, the loss of long-distance stops would be more than an inconvenience. ICE and IC connections are location factors. They influence commuting, business travel, tourism, corporate location decisions and the accessibility of entire regions.
If smaller cities are disconnected from long-distance rail, mobility shifts even further in favor of major centers. Anyone who first has to take regional trains to reach a hub loses time and convenience. For people without cars and for regions seeking to strengthen climate-friendly mobility, that would be a step backward.
At the same time, the warning is politically charged. EVG represents workers in the rail sector and has a clear interest in strengthening Deutsche Bahn’s role. Its analysis is therefore an important signal, but not a neutral market forecast. Still, it addresses a real issue: competition on a crowded rail network needs rules.
Italo sees opportunity in Germany
Italo argues differently. The company sees major potential in Germany and points to additional investment, new jobs and more services for passengers. The German market is larger than Italy’s and offers considerable room for growth.
From the perspective of private operators, access to German long-distance rail has so far been difficult. High track access charges, complex infrastructure, construction works and Deutsche Bahn’s strong market position are seen as hurdles. Italo is therefore calling for reliable long-term conditions in order to make its market entry economically viable.
This leaves 2 legitimate interests facing each other. New operators need access and planning security. At the same time, competition must not result in only the most profitable corridors being served while the wider network loses out.
The decision becomes a test case
Italo’s entry could therefore become a test case for the German rail market. This is not just about an Italian operator and a few new trains. It is about how Germany wants to organize long-distance rail: as market-based competition on lucrative routes or as a managed network that also connects less profitable regions.
The answer will not be simple. Too little competition can make services expensive, sluggish and customer-unfriendly. Too much unmanaged competition, however, can lead providers to focus on the best routes while the overall network thins out.
That is why Germany does not need an ideological rail debate, but clear rules. Competition must benefit passengers — not only on the main corridors between major cities, but also across the wider country.
SK
