Deutsche Bahn is in a permanent crisis
Source: Martin Schutt/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Symbolbild
The Union and the Federal Court of Auditors had called for the railway company to be split up, and now the Monopolies Commission is following suit. The advantages of separating infrastructure and transport outweigh the disadvantages, says the chairman of the panel.
DThe Monopolies Commission is calling for Deutsche Bahn to be split up. “In the opinion of the Monopolies Commission, the advantages of a complete separation of infrastructure and transport divisions outweigh the disadvantages,” said Jürgen Kühling, chairman of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “The aim should be to separate the operators of the infrastructure and the users of this infrastructure from each other.” In the end, there is a company that is only interested in the network being well utilized and functioning well.
Then there would be no more incentives to hinder competitors on the net. “In our opinion, this would change things fairly quickly for customers, other rail providers and for investments in the network.” In Spain, the separation has improved competition, while ticket prices have fallen. The Monopolies Commission advises the federal government on competition issues.
Both the Union and the Federal Court of Auditors are calling for the state-owned company to be split up. Kuhling did not want to comment specifically on the accusation that this was a diversionary maneuver by the Union, which for a very long time provided the Federal Minister of Transport and could have pushed ahead with a reform. All he said was: “We are only evaluating the proposals themselves, and this proposal is good. But the discussion has been smoldering for a long time.”
The government plans to introduce an infrastructure company geared towards the common good within the railway from 2024 onwards. “That’s a step in the right direction, but only half the step,” criticized Kühling. He is confident that the idea will prevail. “We like to drill through thick boards, I’m an optimist, clever suggestions will eventually prevail.”
Most recently, the Federal Court of Auditors sounded the alarm in view of the ongoing crisis in the railway sector and demanded radical government intervention. “The crisis at DB AG is becoming chronic, the group is developing into a restructuring case that endangers the entire railway system,” said Kay Scheller, President of the Court of Auditors.
The group now has more than 30 billion euros in debt, and five million have recently been added every day. “DB is developing into a bottomless pit.” Goals such as doubling passenger traffic by 2030 or a 25 percent share of rail freight traffic are unattainable. The federal government must realign the group and separate from the subsidiaries Schenker and the local transport company Arriva.
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