When a wind turbine caught fire near Bönen in North Rhine-Westphalia last week, the blaze forced a complete shutdown of the main rail line between Hamm and Dortmund for hours. No one was hurt, and the cause remains unclear, but the incident served as a reminder of how fragile Germany’s rail network can be. Now a much bigger disruption looms — not from a technical defect, but from corporate competition.
The Italian rail operator Italo plans to enter Germany’s high-speed market in 2028, running on the busiest corridors: Munich–Frankfurt–Cologne–Dortmund and Munich–Berlin–Hamburg. The move has set off alarm bells at the Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft (EVG), the country’s largest rail and transport union.
EVG chief Burkert accuses Italo of cherry-picking. “They concentrate on the most profitable routes and put pressure on Deutsche Bahn to drop less lucrative services,” he said. According to a union analysis, 16 stations across Germany could lose their long-distance rail connections as a result. Among the cities named: Aachen and Münster in North Rhine-Westphalia, Augsburg, Freiburg, Osnabrück, Saarbrücken, Magdeburg, Rostock, and Schwerin.
Conflicting numbers, real fears
DB board member Peterson has cited an even higher figure: up to 120 stations could potentially be affected. Bahnchefin Palla is calling for adjusted political ground rules to protect the network. The allocation of rail slots — the tracks and timetables — is handled by the Bundesnetzagentur, and EU regulations mandating long-term contracts will take effect in 2031.
In Aachen, which currently sees 16 daily ICE connections, experts at WDR say only the three direct services to Berlin are at risk. International links to Paris and Brussels would remain untouched. In Münster, with 40 daily IC and ICE stops, the potential cuts would primarily hit the Intercity line heading toward Norddeich Mole.
The Saarland economic minister, Berg, is urging the federal government to financially safeguard rail access for her state’s cities.
A call for state subsidies
The EVG wants stronger public funding for rail services. Without government support for loss-making routes, union leaders warn, Germany’s mobility transition is in jeopardy. Industry observers, however, note that past entries by private operators have not triggered a broad withdrawal by Deutsche Bahn.
Meanwhile, the charred wind turbine near Bönen — burning at a height of roughly 95 meters, beyond the reach of firefighters — forced emergency barriers and a lengthy closure of the main line. The fire has been extinguished, but the debate about who gets to run on Germany’s tracks — and at what cost to smaller stations — is just heating up. A final decision will likely come only when slot negotiations for the end of the decade begin.
