Germany’s state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn must consider a broad restructuring to address chronic delays in its passenger service and stem financial losses, Germany’s transport minister demanded on Tuesday.
Urgent changes are needed to improve punctuality “in the short term” and better utilize available tracks and trains, Volker Wissing said. He demanded a plan for continuous improvement at Deutsche Bahn through 2027.
Deutsche Bahn is also dealing with significant financial issues, and divisions including freight and long-distance passenger service are in the red. In the first half of the year alone, Deutsch Bahn reported a loss of €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) and is carrying debts of around €33 billion.
Problems at Deutsche Bahn have became something of a national embarrassment for Germany, a country that once prided itself on a reputation for punctuality efficiency and high-quality infrastructure. In July, only 62% of Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance trains arrived on time.
The railway has announced plans for major track renovation projects across the country, arguing that ageing infrastructure is to blame for some of the operational problems.
The first major corridor projects have already begun, with the heavily used Riedbahn, a railway line between Frankfurt and Mannheim, closed for work from July to mid-December.
But in the meantime, the extensive construction work and track closures are exacerbating serious existing problems with delays and cancellations.
Wissing said on Tuesday that the railway was in bad shape when he took office in 2021 and the country’s rail infrastructure was in wretched condition.
Deutsche Bahn has already embarked on a cost-cutting programme which calls for cutting around 30,000 jobs in the coming years in areas outside train operations, although staffing there is also expected to be reduced in the medium term.
“The first half of the year has once again ruthlessly exposed the weaknesses of the rail system in Germany and our own problems,” the company said on Tuesday.
Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that it is working on a three-year restructuring plan in line with Wissing’s demands, which a spokeswoman said would be presented to the railway’s supervisory board in September.
The programme will prepare Deutsche Bahn “to return to the growth path of our ‘Strong Rail’ strategy by 2027 and to implement the transport policy goals agreed with the government,” she said.
Those goals include doubling the number of passengers by 2030 compared to 2015 and transporting around 25% of all freight traffic in Germany by rail.
Other observers reacted sceptically to Wissing’s remarks on Tuesday. Matthias Gastel of the Green Party said his demands are a “combination of obviousness, populism, contradictions and vague formulations.”
Gastel said lawmakers in parliament have been waiting for a long time for Wissing’s ministry to finally deliver on promises about the railway.
Greenpeace transport expert Lena Donat said that the railroad must make internal improvements, “but its services will only improve in the long term with secure long-term funding.”
She said Germany should follow the model of Switzerland and establish a long-term rail fund.
