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EU ends restrictions on Deutsche Bahn railway power

Xinhua, April 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

The competition watchdog of the European Union adopted a decision that ends the legal restrictions on Deutsche Bahn from Friday, as several competitors have entered the German railway traction current market.

The issue dates back to an inquiry by the European Commission into concerns that a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn was providing discounted energy to power its trains, thus hindering competition.

Before the EU investigation, DB Energie, a Deutsche Bahn subsidiary, was the only supplier of traction current in Germany.

Traction current, which is different from regular electricity, is the electricity used for powering locomotives and is therefore an indispensable input for railway companies.

In December 2013, the EU accepted concessions offered by the Deutsche Bahn to remedy the situation. Specifically, DB Energie committed to grant electricity providers access to its network for supplying traction current and amend its pricing system.

The EU competition watchdog found that, the design and implementation of the commitments proved successful. Within 18 months of their entry into force, several energy providers entered the traction current market. In 2015, they supplied over half of the combined traction current demand of non-Deutsche Bahn railway companies.

Therefore, the EU decided to relieve Deutsche Bahn ahead of schedule from the commitments, which were originally due to apply for five years.

"The growth in the level of competition in the German railway power supply market confirms that the commitments were successful at remedying our competition concerns. This is a good example of how commitment decisions can quickly and effectively open up markets, ensure a level playing field and lead to more competition and lower prices for consumers and businesses," said EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy.

Without the EU restrictions, the company must still grant access to the traction current market, however, under rules introduced by the German market regulator. Endit