German Rail Infrastructure Status: Remains at Grade 3
DB subsidiary InfraGO again rates the condition of the rail infrastructure with a 3. While stations have slightly improved, signal boxes remain critical.
(Image: heise online / Andreas Wilkens)
The Deutsche Bahn subsidiary InfraGO, responsible for the infrastructure of the German rail network and stations, has presented its annual status report. According to this self-assessment, it remains a solid 3, just like in the previous year. More than 380,000 facilities were evaluated using a school grading system for this purpose. DB CEO Evelyn Palla is appealing to the federal government to provide billions of euros more to reduce the investment backlog of past decades. Palla had already announced in November that passengers must prepare for more than 28,000 construction sites and resulting delays in 2026.
Signal boxes in Germany are in the worst condition. They are rated 4.02 – hardly any new or well-maintained facilities were found. Noise barriers are in the best condition with a grade of 1.90. Tunnels and retaining walls (both 2.17) are in second and third place. In addition to signal boxes, level crossings (3.65, 3.58 in 2024) and switches (3.06) are among the areas with the greatest need for action. The proportion of all facilities in the rail network that need to be renewed due to their condition (grade 4 or worse) is currently 16.1 percent. In 2024, this proportion was slightly higher at 16.8 percent.
Rail: Long-term downward trend stopped
Overall, the rail company speaks of a stabilization of the condition. The long-term downward trend has been halted. Stations, among other things, contributed to the stabilization, with their condition slightly improving to a rating of 2.96 (2024: 3.03). In 2025, 124 stations were completely renovated. In total, around 19.9 billion euros were invested in maintenance and replacement investments that year. For 2026, the rail company plans to increase investments in the rail network to more than 23 billion euros.
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Looking at the map of federal states, an interesting contrast between East and West emerges. For the track condition grades, East German states such as Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Brandenburg are leading with grades from 2.65 to 2.89, while North Rhine-Westphalia is at the bottom with 3.26. Other states in the West and Northwest are only slightly ahead with grades in the 3s. This distribution is due to the extensive investments in the rail network since reunification. The dilapidated condition affects not only the rail network: around 25,000 kilometers of German federal highways are also considered in need of renovation. The situation is different for stations: here, Schleswig-Holstein leads with 2.47, followed by Bremen (2.66) and Hamburg (2.75). Berlin is at the bottom with a grade of 3.40, behind Thuringia (3.27) and Saxony (3.12).
(mki)
