Overview
- DB InfraGo filed an urgent legal challenge at the Verwaltungsgericht Köln on Friday, contesting the Bundesnetzagentur's July 17 decision that would force it to reserve roughly one quarter of slots on heavily used long‑distance corridors for competitors.
- The regulator's rule limits a single operator to 60–75 percent of capacity on selected bottlenecks and applies only to 'vertaktete' services, which the agency defines as runs offered at least four times daily at regular two‑hour intervals.
- Deutsche Bahn argues the order would make timetable conflict resolution harder, remove incentives for scheduled compromises and increase disputes in a system that already resolved more than 5,600 conflicts during the 2026 network planning cycle.
- The case clouds Italo's planned April 2028 market entry and its reported €3.6 billion investment because the rule and its legal fate affect whether the company can secure the long‑term trackage and station access it seeks.
- Beyond the immediate legal fight, the dispute raises questions about DB InfraGo's neutrality as a state‑owned infrastructure manager and forces policymakers to weigh the consumer benefits of more competition against risks to regional services and freight coordination.