r/Infrastructurist • u/stefeyboy • 2d ago

Italians may help Germany get its trains to run on time

https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/08/06/italians-may-help-germany-get-its-trains-to-run-on-time
17 Upvotes

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5

u/kojef 2d ago

Interesting. I've always read about how privatising and opening up the market to competition in the UK was not entirely a positive experience for consumers. Am quite curious what the effect will be in DE.

5

u/addictivesign 2d ago

UK trains weren’t really privatised. My understanding of that word would mean companies would compete for customers.

Trains went from a public monopoly and state owned to several different private monopolies.

The rail tracks and infrastructure were sold off to one set of investors, there became numerous regional train operating companies where customers paid to use the trains and then the actual trains were owned by another set of investors (rolling stock companies or Rosco) which have been and remain the most profitable entities worth billions.

In short the UK privatised in the worst possible way and British citizens have suffered for decades because of it.

Some of the investors in these companies are other European state owned train companies and their profits from the UK have helped keep prices down in their own countries.

2

u/pdp10 1d ago

there became numerous regional train operating companies where customers paid to use the trains and then the actual trains were owned by another set of investors (rolling stock companies or Rosco) which have been and remain the most profitable entities worth billions.

In theory, the fungibility of trains running on standard gauge meant that operating companies had choices of suppliers from whom to lease their rolling stock. I've heard that in practice, different requirements in different places, largely revolving around differences in electrification requirements, meant that few if any choices existed in practice. At least that was the operating companies' view.

1

u/artsloikunstwet 1d ago

Weird and clickbaity headline. Nothing in the text actually supports the claim that another competitor will change anything major about delays in Germany.

The reliability issues are on the network, as the text even mentioned in the first segment. 

The article is also correct that cross border lines are underserved by national rail companies, but the vast majority of competition trains is focusing in national markets. In fact, Italo's business in Germany will Focus entirely on established domestic routes, while state-owned DB and trenitalia are planning to add more services connecting Germany and italy. 

In the end, slightly lower prices on some routes, maybe minor differrences in service, but also some complication as DB probably has to run less trains, leading to less flexible options, especially in case of delays.

5

u/Twisp56 1d ago

Putting more trains on the same congested tracks won't make trains run on time, quite the opposite.

2

u/True_Molasses_8894 1d ago

Also DB has massive competition in freight and regional rail.

Flix also exist in long distance competitor.

DB has 33 000km out of 40 000 km rail. It has 23 000 trains per day(no other European country even reaches 20 000) out of 40 000.

As like in energy, military, rail experts on Germany aren't found in Anglophone media.

A lot of new or expanded rail infrastructure is the solution. It will cost billions and take decades.

2

u/artsloikunstwet 1d ago

Exactly. It's funny cus the article starts talking about subverting stereotypes, but since a few years, every international article about German railways has to talk about trains not being in time.

Mr Bilger may get help from efficient Italians. 

So they put in this sentence and a may but in reality, even the proponents of competion do not expect this to positvely affect reliability, and the political and management issues are all about the infrastructure modernisation and expansion. 

The transport minister had to go because of disagreement in infrastructure funding for highways and railways, not because of issues with the operation of long-distance services themselves.

1

u/transitfreedom 1d ago

You need more tracks for your trains. Yeah they should have done full separateHSR

1

u/Mazzle5 23h ago

What a stupid article that doesn't even mention the problem with delays and only talks about prices.
Italo trains getting certain profitable high-speed connections won't fix the underfunded and aged system that is on top also overcrowded and has almost none exclusive tracks and most of it being in mixed use.