Crisis-hit German rail operator reports another massive loss

Deutsche Bahn's CEO says the obstruction relation is facing its worst situation successful 3 decades. Photo: Odd ANDERSEN / AFP
Source: AFP

German obstruction relation Deutsche Bahn reported different monolithic yearly nonaccomplishment Thursday arsenic it battles a "serious crisis" but said authorities plans to ramp up infrastructure spending could get it backmost connected track.

Years of chronic underinvestment person near the bid web successful Europe's biggest economy successful a atrocious state, with passengers often complaining of agelong delays, cancelled trains and mediocre service.

State-owned Deutsche Bahn booked a nett nonaccomplishment successful 2024 of 1.8 cardinal euros ($1.9 billion), though this marked an betterment from a nonaccomplishment of 2.7 cardinal euros the erstwhile year, portion income were flat.

It shed immoderate indebtedness but the fig was inactive a hefty 32 cardinal euros.

"Deutsche Bahn is facing its astir superior crisis" since large railway reforms of the mid-1990s, said CEO Richard Lutz.

"We are acold from achieving our goals and acold from gathering our customers' expectations successful cardinal areas."

The "poor condition" of infrastructure weighed heavily, arsenic did strikes by bid drivers astatine the commencement of the twelvemonth and the weakness of the German economy, which has been successful recession for the past 2 years, the relation said.

Train delays -- a changeless gripe of German obstruction passengers -- besides go much adjacent much predominant successful 2024, with conscionable 62.5 percent of long-distance services arriving connected time.

The task up is colossal, with astir 150 cardinal euros needed for improvements to the existing web arsenic good arsenic caller projects, Deutsche Bahn said.

But Lutz insisted that a turnaround was underway, pointing to immense investments successful infrastructure past twelvemonth and an ongoing restructuring plan, which volition impact thousands of occupation cuts.

He besides hailed a program to found a 500-billion-euro money to overhaul Germany's creaking infrastructure, which was pushed by chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz and voted done parliament past week.

The fund, to beryllium spent implicit 12 years, is "part of the solution" arsenic it provided "economic security" for the obstruction industry, helium told a property conference.

"We can nonstop the awesome to the railway and operation manufacture to physique further resources now, put successful further machines, and besides successful further people."

The outlook for this twelvemonth was already rosier than 2024, the relation insisted, forecasting an summation successful sales, a affirmative operating nett and a autumn successful debts.

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Source: AFP