Overview
- Italo says it plans to launch in 2028 with 30 Siemens trains and €3.6 billion in investment, and that it has already spent more than €25 million and delayed its Siemens contract three times to wait for regulatory clarity.
- The dispute centers on whether long-term framework contracts can be granted before 2031 under a new EU capacity regulation, with DB/DB InfraGO saying they cannot and Italo arguing the regulation allows transitional 15‑year deals for capital‑intensive high‑speed projects.
- The Bundesnetzagentur has been asked to decide the access and contract question, and Italo warns that further delay could close its production window at Siemens and make the project economically or logistically unviable.
- Unions and DB executives warn that new entrants may concentrate on profitable trunk routes, which could undermine Deutsche Bahn’s current cross‑subsidy model that helps maintain long‑distance links to smaller cities.
- Operational limits such as chronic punctuality problems, overcrowding, construction work and constrained track capacity mean that any decision will shape not only market competition but also how many new trains can realistically run on Germany’s network.