Outgoing Transport Minister Volker Wissing speaks out against a change in the leadership of the railway. Wissing said in the ARD “Interview of the Week”:
“When there is an infrastructure problem at the railway, as we still have today: broken switches, outdated signal boxes, and much more, it doesn’t really help to conduct personnel debates.” He strongly advised against it. “Replacing management does not renew
the tracks and signal systems in a company.”
The coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD also addresses the railway network’s company:
“Both in the DB Group and at InfraGo, a reorganization of the supervisory board and management shall occur, with the aim of representing more expertise and achieving streamlining.”
Richard Lutz has been CEO of Deutsche Bahn since March 2017.
Wissing said:
“We
have an infrastructure problem at the railway, and this infrastructure problem did not arise because the railway’s management did not see a need for investment. Instead, it arose because politics failed to provide the necessary financial resources to the railway for this investment over a long period.”
It would suit politics well to handle such topics fairly. If there is still a major problem with
the railway that needs to be solved, then it is the unresolved financial issues from the public side. Deutsche Bahn is facing big problems with unpunctual trains. Last year, only 62.5 percent of long-distance trains were on time. The rail network is dilapidated. Highly congested routes are to be fundamentally renovated in the coming years. This will cost many billions of euros. However, the financing
