Infrastruture

Development in the relevant markets

Train-path demand in the first half of 2021 was characterized by catch-up effects. At the beginning of the second quarter of 2021, demand overall was at the level it was before the Covid-19 pandemic and thus significantly above the corresponding figure from the previous year. However, different developments were recorded in the individual transport types. While demand in the long-distance rail passenger transport and rail freight transport sectors has not yet fully recovered from declines caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the expansion of the transport services resulting from the increase in regionalization funds in regional rail passenger transport led to additional growth, even in comparison with the pre-Covid-19 level.

The number of station stops in regional rail passenger transport increased by 6.9%, mainly as a result of the return to regular transport services after the Covid-19 pandemic, and was therefore 1.9% above the value from the first half of 2019. The share of non-Group railways continued to rise slightly.