Non-discriminatory access to rail infrastructure is the economic core of the Single European Railway Area. Directive 2012/34/EU, transposed in Germany by the Eisenbahnregulierungsgesetz (ERegG), sets the rules on access rights, capacity allocation and charging; the Bundesnetzagentur supervises them. Since June 2026 a second instrument sits on top: Regulation (EU) 2026/1184 on the use of railway infrastructure capacity, which replaces the essentially annual, national allocation model with multi-annual, cross-border capacity planning. This note covers access and allocation; the money side is in the companion note on track-access charges.
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The access right
Licensed railway undertakings have a right of access to the infrastructure of all Member States on equitable, non-discriminatory and transparent conditions (Art. 10 of Directive 2012/34/EU). Capacity may also be requested by applicants that are not railway undertakings — notably competent authorities under Regulation (EC) 1370/2007 and shippers — on the conditions in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/10. In Germany this is the basis on which an Aufgabenträger can itself hold framework capacity for an SPNV network ahead of the award of the transport contract.
Access is formalised in a usage contract with the infrastructure manager on the terms of its network statement (Schienennetz-Nutzungsbedingungen, SNB). The network statement sets out the allocation process, the priority rules for congested infrastructure, the charging principles and the rules on capacity restrictions for works. It is published in advance of each timetable period and is subject to review by the Bundesnetzagentur.
Capacity allocation today
Capacity is allocated in the annual working-timetable process (Netzfahrplan), with ad-hoc requests (Gelegenheitsverkehr) handled during the running year. Conflicting requests are first coordinated; where coordination fails, the infrastructure is declared congested and the priority criteria of the network statement apply. Under the ERegG, services operated under a framework agreement and integrated-timetable (Taktverkehr) and cross-border services enjoy priority in that ranking, which is the legal reason why SPNV under a long-term Verkehrsvertrag has historically been comparatively secure in practice even though each path is formally allocated for one year only.
Capacity restrictions for construction are a separate and growing layer. The corridor renovation programme (Generalsanierungen) closes entire lines for several months at a time; 702 km are scheduled for 2026. On 9 October 2026 the Federal Ministry and DB InfraGO cut the programme for 2027–2031 from 21 to 13 corridors — postponed, not cancelled: 2027 Lehrte – Berlin, Rosenheim – Salzburg and Fulda – Hanau; 2028 Köln – Koblenz, München – Rosenheim (stage 1), Hagen – Unna – Hamm and Lübeck – Hamburg; 2029 Hamburg – Hannover, Würzburg – Ansbach – Treuchtlingen and Aachen – Köln; 2030 Stendal – Magdeburg and Uelzen – Stendal; 2031 Lehrte – Groß Gleidingen and München – Rosenheim (stage 2). Full closures remain the method; the revised concept adds ETCS as standard, better-prepared diversion routes, a staged restart (usually freight first) and a softer quality target (80 % fewer infrastructure-related disruptions within 100 days of reopening). The priority list from 2032 is to follow in 2027. See also the Infraplan 2026 note. For an operator, a full closure is not an allocation dispute but a contractual one: replacement services, cancelled train-kilometres and idle vehicles under the Verkehrsvertrag.
Framework agreements
A framework agreement (Rahmenvertrag) reserves capacity for longer than one timetable period. Under Art. 42 of Directive 2012/34/EU it normally runs for five years, may run for up to ten years where justified by contracts, specialised investments or risks, and up to fifteen years for specialised infrastructure with large, long-term investment. In Germany framework capacity is defined in terms of capacity bands (Kapazitätsbänder) rather than exact paths, and the share of capacity that may be framed is capped. Under Regulation (EU) 2026/1184 framework agreements survive, with a standard term of five years (longer only for dedicated investments by new entrants or substantially new services), but they will grant capacity specifications rather than train paths, the infrastructure manager must cap the share of capacity they may cover and publish that cap in the network statement, and agreements concluded under the old Art. 42 continue until they expire (Arts. 33, 79(1)). Framework agreements are the closest the system comes to aligning path security with asset life — which is why the open-access entrants in long-distance traffic have pressed for them (see the open-access Fernverkehr note).
Regulation (EU) 2026/1184 — the new capacity regime
The Commission’s proposal of 11 July 2023 (COM(2023) 443, part of the Greening Freight package; procedure 2023/0271(COD)) has become Regulation (EU) 2026/1184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2026 on the use of railway infrastructure capacity in the single European railway area. It was published in the Official Journal on 10 June 2026 and entered into force on 11 June 2026. It amends Directive 2012/34/EU and repeals Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 on rail freight corridors.
When it bites. Entry into force and application are staggered (Art. 81). The governance provisions apply at once: ENIM, the European Network of Infrastructure Managers, has to appoint a network coordinator and the operators have to set up the European Railway Platform (ERP) within six months, i.e. by December 2026 (Arts. 61, 63); the European framework for capacity management is due within 18 months (Art. 7), common rules for network statements within 12 months (Art. 65) and the performance-review framework within 26 months (Art. 52). A few allocation and digitalisation provisions apply from 31 December 2027 (Arts. 29(2), 30(1), 50, 66) and the information duties of Art. 10(1)–(2) from 1 January 2029. The core — strategic capacity planning, allocation, conflict resolution and the amendments to the Directive — applies only to activities relating to working timetables entering into force on or after 14 December 2030. From that date the capacity articles of Directive 2012/34/EU (Arts. 36 and 38–54) cease to apply (Art. 79(2)) and Regulation 913/2010 is repealed (Art. 80).
The planning cascade. Each infrastructure manager produces three successive planning documents for every timetable period (Arts. 18–20 and Annex I): a capacity strategy (elaboration starts 60 months before the timetable, final version 36 months before), which records planned infrastructure works, demand forecasts, the Member State’s strategic guidance, capacity under framework agreements and the capacity likely to be needed for services under public service contracts; a capacity model (final 18 months before), which sets the volume of capacity by section and market segment and the capacity reserved for works; and a capacity supply plan, which turns this into allocatable capacity objects. Allocation then runs through four channels (Arts. 33–36): framework agreements, the annual process, a new multi-annual rolling planning process (at least for freight, with capacity rights of up to 36 months) and ad hoc requests.
Changes, works and penalties. Capacity restrictions for works must be planned and coordinated in advance (Arts. 11, 37). Where the infrastructure manager or an applicant makes a significant change to an allocated capacity right, it pays a penalty to the other side (Art. 42), within the bands of Annex IV, set out in the network statement and approved by the regulatory body. The infrastructure manager’s penalty may not be differentiated by market segment. Force majeure, withdrawals on public-order grounds and the agreed amendment of framework agreements are excluded.
Governance and expected effect. ENIM develops the European frameworks for planning, cross-border coordination, disruption and crisis management and performance review; the European Network of Rail Regulatory Bodies receives a formal board and new tasks (Arts. 67–72). The Commission expects up to around 4 % more usable network capacity. The Commission evaluates the regime by 31 December 2033 (Art. 77).
For contracts let now. An SPNV contract awarded in 2026–2028 with a start in or after December 2030 and a twelve- to fifteen-year term will run almost entirely under the new regime. Two points deserve attention in tender documents and financing models: the authority’s capacity need has to be fed into the capacity strategy, whose elaboration starts five years and which is finalised three years before the timetable concerned — for the December 2030 timetable that means by December 2027; and the penalty mechanism in Art. 42 creates a new, regulated compensation stream for infrastructure-side changes that the Verkehrsvertrag should allocate between operator and authority. The background to the trilogue is in the earlier development note.
German practice and current disputes
Three German developments currently shape access in practice:
- Competition on long-distance capacity — the competitor clause. On a complaint by Italo, which plans timetabled long-distance services in Germany from 2028, the Bundesnetzagentur ordered DB InfraGO on 17 July 2026 to include a competitor clause in its network statement: on sections where capacity is reduced by works or diversions, DB Fernverkehr should receive at most 60–75 % of the remaining long-distance capacity once other operators request timetabled services there. By unappealable interim order of 8 October 2026 (18 L 2186/26) the VG Köln held the obligation unlawful: neither EU nor German railway regulation requires such a clause, and it is unsuitable for its purpose, because its effect is limited in time, space and subject matter and no investment decision — least of all for multi-year timetabled services — could rest on it. The court also held that DB lounges are not service facilities. It stressed that it was not ruling on long-distance competition or any particular market entry as such. The political debate runs in parallel: a Bavarian Bundesrat initiative (cabinet decision of July 2026) asks for long-distance services in the regions, a federal power to order long-distance services, and protection of SPNV capacity — in particular peak reinforcement trains at busy hubs — against displacement by additional long-distance paths. For merchant fleets the practical consequence is that framework agreements, not regulatory share caps, remain the route to multi-year path security.
- Construction-related restrictions. The corridor renovation programme and the Infraplan pipeline determine where capacity will be unavailable, for how long, and with what notice — the dominant access risk for SPNV operators in 2026–2030.
- Deutschlandtakt. The integrated-timetable target structure remains the planning reference for the Zielnetz 2035, due in early 2027; how it is translated into capacity reservations under the new EU regime is open.
The regulatory body
The regulatory body must be independent of infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, applicants and contracting authorities (Art. 55 of Directive 2012/34/EU). In Germany the Bundesnetzagentur (Ruling Chamber 10) performs this role under the ERegG; it reviews network statements ex ante, decides on complaints about allocation and charging, and approves charges. Its decisions are reviewed by the Verwaltungsgericht Köln, whose railway chamber (18th chamber) has become the central forum for the current charging disputes. Safety and vehicle matters sit with the Eisenbahn-Bundesamt.
The essential functions of the infrastructure manager — path allocation and charging — must be performed independently of any railway undertaking (Art. 7 of the Directive). DB InfraGO, as a vertically integrated subsidiary of DB AG, discharges them under the ERegG’s independence rules.
Why it matters for rolling-stock financing
A rail vehicle has a 25- to 30-year economic life; the path it runs on is allocated for a year. In SPNV the mismatch is bridged by the Verkehrsvertrag, the authority’s own framework capacity and, behind them, the Kapitaldienst- or Wiedereinsatzgarantie. In open-access long-distance traffic nothing bridges it, and access becomes the credit question. Three items belong in diligence today: who holds framework capacity for the network concerned and until when; how the transport contract allocates the consequences of construction closures (availability payments, mileage-based lease components, minimum-use covenants); and how the contract will be adapted when the Regulation 2026/1184 planning instruments start to apply.
Related topic notes
- Track access & capacity allocation · Track-access charges
- Fourth Railway Package · TSI · Safety certification & vehicle authorisation · ECM
- Freight corridors & combined transport · Passenger rights · State aid for rail · Altmark
Sources: Directive 2012/34/EU (Arts. 7, 10, 42, 55); Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/10; Regulation (EU) 2026/1184 (OJ L, 10 June 2026), read in the signed text PE-CONS 27/26 of 20 May 2026, in particular Arts. 7, 18–20, 33–36, 42, 61, 63, 79–81 and Annex I; European Commission, news of 10 June 2026; Railway Gazette and International Railway Journal of 20–21 May 2026; Forum Train Europe, 10 June 2026; BMV, Infraplan 2026; Bundesnetzagentur publications of 30 June and 17 July 2026; VG Köln, press release of 8 October 2026 on 18 L 2186/26; Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport, press release 88/2026 (23 July 2026); Verkehrsrundschau, 9 October 2026 (corridor renovations); Der Rote Renner, 29 September, 9 and 13 October 2026.
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.