The charge under Article 9c of the Railways Act (RailA) (the train-path price) is made up of the price for the basic services and the charges for the ancillary services.
Basic service price components.
The base price.
The base price components must cover marginal infrastructure costs. Incentives and product-related factors (such as surcharges for stopping or hazardous goods and a discount for the ETCS train control system) can result in a variable price per train.
The contribution margin.
The contribution margin is specified by the franchising authority and, for franchise holders’ passenger trains, it is calculated as a percentage of sales revenues – currently 13.5 percent for long-distance passenger services and 8 percent for regional passenger services. The revenue-related contribution margin for passenger services makes an important contribution to fixed costs.
The energy price.
The FOT determines the electricity price based on information provided by the infrastructure operator so that all costs are covered.
What is included in the basic services?
The basic services include:
- train-path use at the quality level specified, including train operating services
- power supply ex catenary
- safe and punctual operations on the open track, at stations passed through and at junctions, including the telecommunication and IT services required for these operations
- for passenger trains, the use of platform space at the departure, intermediate and destination stations and access for passengers to the public areas of these stations
- use of tracks by trains in unchanged formation for freight operations between agreed departure and destination points.
Ancillary services.
The infrastructure operator determines the prices of ancillary services on a non-discriminatory basis, insofar as these can be provided with the existing infrastructure and personnel, and publishes them.
What are ancillary services?
Ancillary services include route setting for shunting runs, shunting in SBB marshalling yards, the stabling of rail vehicles, static water and power supplies, use of the route outside published opening times, etc.
Miscellaneous services.
Network users (railway companies) can also buy miscellaneous services such as training runs for drivers at freely negotiable prices from companies other than the infrastructure operator. This does not come under the general issue of network access.