2024-07-29 06:28:22
Thuringian Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow has sharply attacked Deutsche Bahn. He is calling for a radical separation of network and operations.
Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow has strongly criticized Deutsche Bahn and is calling for radical reforms. “The railway is a system of chaos,” said Ramelow in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. Among other things, he complained about the loss of customers and the overcrowded or cancelled trains during the European Football Championship.
Ramelow proposes organizing the rail network as a non-profit foundation and consistently modernizing it. He stresses the need for a clear separation between network and operations. Since the beginning of the year, the infrastructure company InfraGo has been taking care of the general renovation of important route corridors, whereby according to its statutes it should take into account not only economic efficiency but also non-profit aspects.
The Prime Minister expresses his disappointment: His grandfather used to use the phrase “Punctual like the Deutsche Bahn” – today this can only be understood as satire, says Ramelow.
The current statistics from Deutsche Bahn support his criticism: There has been a six percent drop in passengers in long-distance traffic, and the punctuality rate has fallen to just 62.7 percent. Financially, too, things are looking bleak: Deutsche Bahn recorded a loss of 1.2 billion euros after interest and income taxes in the first half of the year.