Deutsche Bahn has to pay a fine of 48 million euros for agreements about customers in freight transport. This was announced by the EU Commission. But there is also good news for the train from Brussels.
The competition authorities of the European Union have imposed a fine of around 48 million euros on Deutsche Bahn. The background is violations of European antitrust law, as announced by the EU Commission. In addition to Deutsche Bahn, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer belges (SNCB) are also affected. “The companies were involved in a cartel in which the division of customers was concerned,” announced the EU Commission. The companies had admitted their participation in the cartel. Specifically, it was about freight traffic on certain railway corridors.
Agreements between three railway companies
The Commission’s investigation showed that the three companies illegally exchanged customer inquiries and provided each other with higher price offers. There were corresponding agreements between 2008 and 2014. Deutsche Bahn emphasized that the customers had not suffered any economic disadvantages. According to the Commission, the Austrians were completely waived their fine of 37 million euros under the leniency program. Deutsche Bahn and SNCB also benefited from discounts because of their cooperation with the competition authorities in the investigation. The SNCB, for example, would have to pay a fine of 270,000 euros in the end.
The federal government is facing an agreement with the EU on rail aid
The negotiations with Brussels over billions in federal aid for the railways seem to be about to reach an agreement: According to a letter from the federal government’s rail commissioner, Enak Ferlemann, the negotiations between Germany and the EU Commission are on the home straight. The letter from Ferlemann to members of the Bundestag says that one is in constructive talks with the commission about a building block system for both the railway company and the industry as a whole. According to this, a core element is that the fees for track use are almost completely waived for all railway companies. This should apply retrospectively from March 2020 to the end of 2021. In addition, the federal government can step in for the failed dividend of the Deutsche Bahn of 650 million euros this year and possibly also next year, which would have flowed back to the network subsidiary of the state company together with federal funds. There could also be disaster aid for the group during the pandemic.
Objections of the EU Commission
Actually, the Bund had the ailing Deutsche Bahn in the Corona crisis an equity injection of five billion euros has been promised. However, this encountered resistance from competitors and the EU Commission. Therefore, according to Ferlemann’s letter, the entire sector should benefit from aid. In freight transport, for example, Deutsche Bahn only has a market share of less than 50 percent, in local transport of around 70 percent. For the state company, this could mean support, according to estimates from industry circles, of up to four billion euros, since the infrastructure with the network is in the hands of the company.
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