NACE 49.2 – Freight Rail Transport | Public Tenders

Definition: NACE 49.2 covers the economic activity of transporting goods on railway tracks, including single-wagon, block-train and combined transport. In public procurement, this group is primarily relevant for military transports, construction logistics for major infrastructure projects and in-house logistics services of state-owned undertakings.

Legal basis: NACE Rev. 2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) · Last updated: January 2026

What does NACE 49.2 cover?

NACE 49.2 (Freight rail transport) classifies undertakings that transport goods, raw materials, machinery and other freight on railway tracks — nationally and internationally.

Group 49.2 within Section H (Transportation and storage) and Division 49 (Land transport and transport via pipelines) contains a single class:

Covered are: bulk freight (coal, ore, grain), container block trains, tank-wagon trains, automotive logistics trains and dangerous goods transports by rail (ADR/RID). Excluded are storage, transhipment and road pre/onward haulage, which are allocated to their own NACE classes.

Public contracting authorities are primarily state-owned undertakings with their own freight transport needs, armed forces, public mining undertakings and infrastructure operators that procure services on the rail network.

Public Tenders: Activities under NACE 49.2

The public-sector share of the rail freight market is smaller than in passenger transport but, in specific segments — military, energy, infrastructure construction — of considerable importance.

Typical types of contract

• Military heavy-load transports: Relocation of tanks, heavy equipment and ammunition by rail by the Bundeswehr/Bundesheer and NATO bodies; frequently in restricted procedures on security grounds
• Construction logistics for infrastructure projects: Transport of ballast, reinforcing steel, track and switch material for rail construction works (ÖBB, DB InfraGO, ASFINAG-related rail projects)
• Disposal services by rail: Transport of radioactive waste, sewage sludge, industrial waste by public waste management companies and nuclear power plant operators
• Rail post and express freight of state-owned companies: Historically significant, today declining in favour of road
• Block-train framework agreements for public energy suppliers: Coal and biomass trains for municipal combined heat and power (increasingly being phased out due to the energy transition)
• Combined transport and transhipment capacity: Award of CT transhipment services and trailer transport capacity by rail

Thresholds and procedure types

As rail freight is largely commercially organised, public tenders are less frequent than in SPNV. The main relevant authorities are utility sector contracting entities (energy and transport utilities) under SektVO/BVergG and defence procurement entities. The EU threshold for service contracts is EUR 443,000 (utility sector contracting entities, as of 2024/2025). Procedure type: predominantly open procedure or negotiated procedure for security-relevant tenders.

Relevant CPV codes for NACE 49.2

CPV codes (Common Procurement Vocabulary), which must be specified in every contract notice on TED, link the NACE classification with tender searches.

Current tenders with these CPV codes can be found on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) as well as on national procurement platforms.

For whom is NACE 49.2 relevant in public procurement?

Public contracting authorities

In rail freight transport, public contracting authorities act primarily as buyers of specific transport services — not as regulators of market access (the freight transport market in the EU has been fully liberalised since 2007). Relevant contracting authorities in Germany are: the Bundeswehr (military heavy-load transports), Deutsche Bahn AG as a utility sector contracting entity (procurement of locomotives and freight wagons), municipal energy utilities and public waste management companies. In Austria, ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) acts both as a market participant and as a contracting authority for sub-services; the Federal Ministry of Defence awards military transport services.

Companies and bidders

Rail freight undertakings (GEU) participating in public tenders under NACE 49.2 need:

• Railway licence: Safety certificate Parts A and B under § 7a AEG (Germany) or safety authorisation under EisbG (Austria) and EU safety certificate under Directive (EU) 2016/798
• Vehicle availability: Evidence of suitable locomotives and freight wagons (owned, leased or via vehicle lessors)
• Dangerous goods qualification: RID training records for the undertaking, safety adviser (§ 3 GbV)
• Technical capacity: References with comparable freight volumes, types of goods and route profiles
• Economic stability: Sufficient capital base for investment in rolling stock and track access rights

Due to the full liberalisation of the European rail freight market, competition is also open to non-state railways (TX Logistik, Railpool users, VTG Rail Logistics and others).

NACE 49.2 in context: Section H and Division 49

NACE 49.2 forms part of Division 49 (Land transport) within transport Section H — one of the most heavily used areas of public procurement.

• NACE H – Transportation and storage: Parent section covering all transport activities
• NACE 49 – Land transport: Division covering rail and road transport
• NACE 49.1 – Passenger rail transport: SPNV, S-Bahn, local rail tenders
• NACE 49.3 – Other passenger land transport: Bus, taxi, school transport
• NACE 52 – Warehousing and support activities for transportation: Transhipment, storage, logistics services

Frequently asked questions about NACE 49.2 and public tenders

Which companies fall under NACE 49.2?
All rail freight undertakings that predominantly transport goods on railway tracks — regardless of ownership structure (state or private). Pure freight forwarders or road haulage undertakings are not covered, even if they purchase rail services.

Is rail freight transport a competitive market?
Yes. Since full liberalisation through the EU railway directives (most recently Directive 2012/34/EU), rail freight transport in the EU has been fully opened to competition. Public tender procedures therefore arise only in those sub-segments where the contracting authority itself acts as a buyer of transport services.

Do freight transports by rail have to be tendered?
Only if the procuring authority is subject to public procurement law (public contracting authority or utility sector contracting entity) and the contract value exceeds the applicable EU threshold. Purely private freight transport contracts are not subject to public procurement law.

Where do I find current rail freight tenders?
EU-wide on TED via CPV search (60230000). National tenders on BIOS (Austria) and DTVP/Vergabe24 (Germany). Military contracts frequently appear on the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) platform.

Last updated: January 2026
All information is provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.