Profit or Perish? DB Cargo Bets on Alpine Freight Under Brussels Watch

DB Cargo has taken direct control of shuttle single wagonload traffic between Germany and Italy. The central Alpine corridor is expected to increase operational efficiency and strengthen the group’s cross-border network integration.

DB Cargo has started operating shuttle single wagonload (SWL) traffic between Germany and Italy from 1 January 2026. Transit on the Mannheim–Chiasso route, which had previously been handled by various external partners, will now be fully managed within DB Cargo’s own network.

"We are planning up to 36 trains per week in each direction. This is a major step, in which the Swiss subsidiary DB Cargo Schweiz will independently carry out and manage the central Alpine section of single wagon transport for the entire DB Cargo Group," said Martin Brunner, CEO of DB Cargo Schweiz.

Single wagonload transport is operationally and financially demanding, especially in an international context. At the same time, it is one of DB Cargo’s key competitive advantages in Europe: within its European network, DB Cargo connects more than 4,200 railway sidings.

By bundling partial transport services, DB Cargo is consistently expanding its European position. The transport of individual wagons is an important tool for strengthening and stabilising the European network. For the first time, the company is combining the entire transport chain, from train formation and departure in Mannheim, through transit via Switzerland, to delivery to more than 50 Italian sidings.

DB Cargo Unifies Single Wagon Transport in Europe

For DB Cargo customers, this means clearer allocation of responsibilities. The company has reduced the number of train handling operations and now manages SWL traffic on the central north–south Alpine axis from a single control centre. At the same time, traffic flow stability has increased and efficiency has improved across the entire transport chain. In Italy, train formation, shunting and dispatching will be handled by sister company DB Cargo Italia. On 27 January, the 200th SWL train was dispatched on this route.

According to DB Cargo’s press release, this decision strengthens not only single wagonload transport but also the group’s pan-European integration. "The bundled management of cross-border SWL transport creates the basis for further unification of our network in Europe and its future sustainable competitiveness," DB Cargo pointed out.

Although Deutsche Bahn, with the support of the German government, negotiated a special subsidy programme with the European Commission for single wagonload transport, the most loss-making segment within DB Cargo’s business, this has so far not been sufficient to offset systemic losses within the company. When approving the German subsidy scheme, the European Commission imposed a condition that DB Cargo must begin reporting profits from 2026 onwards.