German rail union warns Italo entry could cut ICE service to 16 cities

The Italian high‑speed operator Italo plans to launch German long‑distance services from 2028, initially with 30 trains on the lucrative Munich‑Dortmund and Munich‑Hamburg corridors (later also Munich‑Berlin‑Hamburg). The railway workers’ union EVG warns that the entry could lead to the loss of ICE and IC connections for at least 16 German cities – Aachen, Augsburg, Bamberg, Chemnitz, Cottbus, Freiburg, Ingolstadt, Jena, Magdeburg, Münster, Norddeich Mole, Osnabrück, Rostock, Saarbrücken, Schwerin, Singen and, in Trier, a planned IC link. EVG chairman Martin Burkert described the risk as “Rosinenpickerei” and called for “package solutions” that would obligate Italo to serve provincial routes as well as the main lines. He urged Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder to ensure fair competition. Bavarian Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter and Deutsche Bahn’s leadership echoed concerns that reduced cross‑subsidisation could lengthen journeys and force passengers onto slower regional services. The federal network regulator InfraGo, under the Bundesnetzagentur, will allocate the contested track slots. Parallel reports note that more than 90 rail projects across Germany are stalled for lack of funding, heightening the stakes for the national rail system.