Disclaimer

This website is a personal publication of Dr. Thomas Prüm, An der Welle 3, 60322 Frankfurt, Germany. Use of the website is subject to the following terms. By accessing or using railreg.de, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the website.

1. No legal advice

The content of this website is provided for general information purposes only. It does not constitute, and must not be understood as, legal, tax, regulatory, financial or investment advice. It is not a substitute for individual advice on a specific matter. The information is offered without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, as to its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, fitness for a particular purpose or otherwise.

Rolling-stock financing and railway regulation are complex areas that are subject to frequent change — in particular at the intersection of German SPNV law, European railway regulation, state-aid law and asset-finance practice. Content on this website reflects the author's understanding at the time of writing and may not reflect subsequent legal, regulatory or market developments. Readers must not act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of any content on this website without first obtaining appropriate professional advice specific to their situation.

2. No attorney-client relationship

Accessing, reading or relying on information on this website does not, and is not intended to, create an attorney-client relationship between you and Dr. Thomas Prüm, between you and any law firm or other organisation with which Dr. Thomas Prüm is associated, or between you and any other person. Contacting the author via email or any other means does not by itself create such a relationship.

3. Not the views of any employer or firm

Content on this website reflects the personal views of the author only. It does not represent, and must not be attributed to, any employer, law firm, professional association, client or other organisation with which the author is or has been affiliated. Any reference to an organisation is purely informational.

4. No client solicitation

Nothing on this website constitutes an offer of legal services or a solicitation of clients. Information on lawyers' websites and professional publications in Germany is subject to the rules of professional conduct applicable to German attorneys, in particular the Bundesrechtsanwaltsordnung (BRAO), the Berufsordnung für Rechtsanwälte (BORA) and the Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz (RVG).

5. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the author accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage — including, without limitation, direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or special damages — arising out of or in connection with the use of, or reliance on, this website or any content on it, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

The website is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. The author does not warrant that the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, free from viruses or other harmful components, or otherwise meet any particular requirements.

Nothing in this disclaimer excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable mandatory law — for example, liability for intentional acts or gross negligence, or for injury to life, body or health under German law.

6. External links

This website contains links to external websites operated by third parties — including authorities, legal databases, sector bodies and commercial information providers. These links are provided for convenience and information only. The author has no control over the content of external websites and does not endorse them. The author accepts no responsibility or liability for the content, availability, accuracy, legality or any other aspect of external websites.

Where the author becomes aware of specific unlawful content on a linked external website, the link will be removed without undue delay.

7. Intellectual property

All text, graphics, logos, design elements and other content on this website are — unless otherwise indicated — the intellectual property of the author and are protected by German and international copyright and related rights. Reproduction, distribution, public display, adaptation or any other use requires the prior written consent of the author, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law (for example, private use or limited citation pursuant to § 51 UrhG).

Third-party trademarks, trade names and logos referenced on this website — including names of railway undertakings, Aufgabenträger, manufacturers, financial institutions and public bodies — are the property of their respective owners. Reference to them does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

If you believe that content on this website infringes any of your intellectual-property rights, please contact the author by email at admin@railreg.de so that the matter can be addressed promptly. Formal cease-and-desist letters sent at the author's cost do not correspond to the author's actual or presumed will.

8. User conduct

You agree not to use this website in any way that is unlawful, harmful, or otherwise objectionable. In particular, you agree not to (i) attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website or its systems; (ii) interfere with its normal operation; (iii) use any automated means to scrape, copy or otherwise extract content in a way that imposes an unreasonable burden on the website; or (iv) use content from this website in a way that infringes intellectual-property or other rights of the author or of third parties.

9. Data protection

This website aims to minimise the processing of personal data. Where the website processes personal data — for example, server log data for security and stability purposes, or contact details submitted via email — the processing is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, GDPR) and applicable German data-protection law. Data processing takes place on the legal basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in securely operating the website) unless a more specific basis applies.

Pursuant to applicable data-protection law, the author objects to any commercial use or forwarding of personal data made available on or through this website.

The data controller is Dr. Thomas Prüm, An der Welle 3, 60322 Frankfurt, Germany, reachable at admin@railreg.de. You have the rights set out in Articles 15 to 22 GDPR, including the right to request access to, rectification or erasure of your personal data, the right to restrict processing, the right to data portability and the right to object to processing. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data-protection supervisory authority.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

This website is designed to operate with an absolute minimum of cookies. No tracking cookies, advertising cookies, analytics cookies or other non-essential cookies are set. No third-party tracking or profiling technologies (such as Google Analytics, advertising pixels, social-media trackers, fingerprinting scripts or cross-site tracking of any kind) are used.

To the extent that strictly necessary cookies or comparable technologies are used — for example, session identifiers required for the website's technical operation — such use is based on § 25(2) no. 2 TTDSG (Telekommunikation-Telemedien-Datenschutz-Gesetz), which permits storage of, or access to, information on the user's terminal equipment where this is strictly necessary to provide a telemedia service expressly requested by the user. No consent banner is displayed because no non-essential cookies are used.

Should the author decide to introduce any non-essential cookies or comparable technologies in the future, this will only be done on the basis of prior, freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent obtained in accordance with § 25(1) TTDSG and Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, and this disclaimer will be updated accordingly. Most browsers allow you to control, refuse or delete cookies via their settings; doing so has no adverse effect on the use of this website.

The website may be served through a standard content-delivery infrastructure that processes connection metadata (such as IP address, user agent and referring URL) for the purpose of providing and securing the service. This processing is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Such data is not used for profiling or for the creation of user behaviour profiles across sessions.

11. No guarantee of availability

The author may modify, suspend or discontinue the website or any part of it at any time and without notice. The author may also update these terms from time to time; the current version applies to any use of the website from the date of its publication.

12. Governing law and jurisdiction

Use of this website and these terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. To the extent permitted by applicable mandatory law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for any dispute arising out of or in connection with the use of this website is Munich, Germany. Mandatory consumer-protection rules of the jurisdiction in which a consumer has their habitual residence remain unaffected.

13. Severability

If any provision of these terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. The invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed replaced by a valid and enforceable provision that most closely reflects the parties' original intent.

14. Language

These terms are published in English. The English version prevails. Translations, if any, are provided for convenience only.

Last reviewed: 18 April 2026.