The Federal Minister for Transport, Volker Schnieder, has announced structural reforms for Deutsche Bahn, expressing dissatisfaction with the recently released mid-year financial report. In an interview with “Tagesthemen” Minister Schnieder stated, “We are, of course, dissatisfied with the punctuality rates achieved. These must improve significantly”. He indicated a goal of returning to punctuality rates exceeding 80 percent.
Schnieder attributed the current unreliability to issues affecting both operational practices and infrastructure conditions. A focus of the planned reforms involves investment aimed at increasing the resilience and stability of the railway’s operations. While avoiding concrete timelines for improvement, the Minister emphasized that each implemented measure should contribute to a better overall network condition and positively impact punctuality figures. He deemed it “unreliable to predict” a precise timeframe but stressed that the current performance levels are unsustainable and require substantial improvement.
Minister Schnieder further announced a comprehensive strategy for Deutsche Bahn, expected to be finalized by the end of summer. The strategy will address the need for numerous changes across the organization, with a particular focus on personnel structure. “We envision a more streamlined organizational framework, with increased expertise brought into the supervisory boards, ensuring better governance and oversight of the railway by its owner and supervisory council” he explained.
