> A nice thing about the Deutsche Bahn is that they exist. It's not the case in every country in the world.

EU does not have a train monopoly. There are other train companies in Germany (FlixTrain, OBB, BRB...). And operators from other countries can also operate there, even French SNCF!

DB is blocking slots on rail, that could be used by other operators. And they are not going to change because it is Germany.

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pantalaimon 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

All operators run on DB infrastructure.

I recently experienced this with CD from Karlovy Vary to Berlin. It was snowing that day and inside of the Czech Republic I was enjoying the scenic view of the Egerland without any delays.

But as soon as we pulled into Germany, the train came to a stop - problems with the rail security infrastructure, nothing the train operator has any influence on.

We eventually arrived in Berlin with +1h delay.

	▲	throw899832 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		> All operators run on DB infrastructure. Rails, buildings and train stations are in separate company (DB InfraGO), owned by DB. But DB has no monopoly on trains in Germany, any company can run trains there.

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palata 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

My opinion is that trains are a natural monopoly, they should belong to the government.

Fine if some trains go through it (e.g. a TGV between Paris and Berlin).

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zokier 2 days ago | parent [-]

I can see rails being natural monopoly, but trains?

	▲	palata a day ago \| parent [-]
		Well the trains go with the rails. It makes no sense to compete on the same rails...