Italo entry into German long-distance rail sparks regional backlash

Germany’s plan to open long-distance rail to more competition has triggered a sharper regional backlash, with the EVG rail union warning that Italo’s planned entry could leave smaller cities worse off.

The union said an internal analysis suggests at least 16 cities could lose ICE or IC service if the open-access operator wins the routes and capacity it wants. The cities named in coverage include Augsburg, Ingolstadt and Bamberg.

The dispute is no longer just about whether a new entrant can run trains in Germany. It is now about how the country allocates scarce rail paths, and whether the most lucrative long-distance corridors will be protected from pressure on regional and local services.

What Italo wants

According to the reporting, Italo plans to enter the German market from 2028 with 30 Siemens trains and a proposed investment of 3.6 billion euros.

The company wants to run Munich-Frankfurt-Cologne-Dortmund hourly and Munich-Berlin-Hamburg every two hours. It is also seeking longer-term access rights for attractive tracks and capacity reservations for new entrants.

Those requests are being handled by the Bundesnetzagentur, the federal network regulator, according to the reporting. The issue matters because Germany currently allocates rail paths annually, while Italo is seeking a more stable framework for access.

Earlier warnings

The current backlash builds on warnings already aired earlier this month. On June 2, Deutsche Bahn chief Evelyn Palla warned against what she called “ungesteuerter Wettbewerb” in long-distance rail.

Palla said unmanaged competition could hurt the wider public and leave less profitable regions with fewer services. She also argued that the political framework needs improvement.

On June 6, reporting said the access dispute was already before the Bundesnetzagentur, underscoring that the fight is about capacity and route rules before Italo has even started operating in Germany.

Why regional leaders are worried

The EVG says its concern is not simply competition, but route concentration. Its warning is that a new operator could focus on the busiest and most profitable lines while weakening the wider network that supports smaller cities.

EVG chairman Martin Burkert has warned against “Rosinenpickerei,” or cherry-picking the most profitable routes, and has called for package solutions that also require service in smaller cities.

Bavaria’s transport minister Christian Bernreiter has made a similar point, saying new route awards should not come at the expense of local and regional rail. The concern is that if profitable trunk services are redistributed, the knock-on effect could reach less lucrative stations beyond the main corridors.

DB’s position is more nuanced. The company says competition is welcome in principle, but warns that trunk-route profits could be pulled away from less profitable parts of the network if access rules are not handled carefully.

The regulatory question

The central open question is whether Germany will require new entrants to serve beyond the most profitable corridors.

That could mean public-interest conditions on open-access entry, or some other form of obligation tied to route access and capacity allocation. It could also affect how the Bundesnetzagentur balances competition with network coverage when it reviews Italo’s requests.

For now, the dispute remains a warning shot about how a new operator could reshape Germany’s long-distance map before a single train runs. The political argument is increasingly about whether rail liberalization should be paired with guarantees for medium-sized cities and weaker routes.

What happens next

The next milestone is a decision or further guidance from the Bundesnetzagentur on access terms and capacity.

After that, the issue is likely to remain politically charged if the list of potentially affected cities grows, or if state ministers and labor representatives push for mandatory regional-service protections.

For now, the confirmed facts point in the same direction: Italo wants a major German launch, and regional leaders fear the price of that entry could be fewer long-distance stops outside the main trunk lines.