The case was brought to the ECJ after the Austrian Rail Control Commission (SCK) sided with Austrian infrastructure manager ÖBB Infrastructure, which maintained that station fees were not included in the package and had to be purchased for each service Westbahn operated, a process that had been underway since 2012.
Westbahn argued that station access was already included in the package under the first railway package.
The SCK submitted its finding to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling, which found on July 10 that stopping at a station cannot be charged as a separate service.
Westbahn says the ruling removes another hurdle towards creating a single European railway area and promoting more competition.
According to the ECJ ruling, SCK will now decide by how much was Westbahn was overcharged and how much ÖBB Infrastructure must repay in retroactive compensation.
