Germany’s rail freight performance fell by 5.4% in 2025, according to the Federal Network Agency, Germany’s regulator for rail, energy, telecoms and postal markets.
The decline was driven mainly by DB Cargo. The Federal Network Agency said the company’s operating performance fell by around 20%, while its transport performance dropped by more than 21%.
Competing freight operators took over part of the lost volume. Their share of Germany’s rail freight market increased to 67%, while federally owned operators accounted for 33%.
Total rail operating performance in Germany stagnated at around 1.125bn train-path km in 2025. Growth in passenger rail offset the decline in freight, with regional passenger rail operating performance up 1.5% and long-distance passenger rail almost unchanged.
Passenger transport remained at a high level. Regional rail recorded 65bn passenger-km, broadly stable year on year, while long-distance passenger rail increased by 3.5% to 49bn passenger-km.
The Federal Network Agency also reported a continued rise in delays on the DB InfraGO network over a four-year period. It identified strong growth in delays attributed to train sequencing and infrastructure managers.
On the Riedbahn, Germany’s first corridor to complete a general renewal, infrastructure- and construction-related delay events fell from around 15,800 to 9,200 in the 12 months after reopening. Delay minutes on the route fell from 143,400 to 95,700, a reduction of 33%.
Delays linked to signalling and interlocking systems and switches on the Riedbahn fell by 20% to 30%. The regulator said these improvements remained well below the values originally targeted, while delays linked to telecommunications systems and level crossing protection systems increased after the works.
The report also included first results from a vehicle-holder survey on ETCS equipment. More than 550 vehicle holders reported around 20,000 traction vehicles, powered service vehicles and driving trailers approved for the German network.
Of around 17,350 operational vehicles with train protection systems, vehicles registered to German holders had a low ETCS equipment rate. The Federal Network Agency reported 1,860 ETCS-equipped vehicles among German holders, equal to 13% of the relevant fleet, with most vehicles still requiring installation or upgrades.
