In a ruling dated 22nd May 2025, the European Court of Justice decided that full cost surcharges in track access charges may not serve to generate profits. The background to this was a dispute in Austria between the network operator ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG and Westbahn on the one hand and the regulatory authority Schienen-Control on the other. The ruling could have far-reaching consequences. For example, the law firm BBG und Partner questions whether the imputed return on equity of €562 million approved by the german Federal Network Agency for DB InfraGO is compatible with EU law. If the return is no longer included in the base level of total costs in future, the upper limit for total costs and track access charges would have to be reduced.
