Crisis on the rail: Railway reduced loss – passengers feel little of them

With the first successes, Deutsche Bahn is against a variety of crises. The losses were significantly reduced in the first half of the year, and the renovation of busy rail corridors is progressing. And for the upgrading of the network, significantly more money will be available, at least in the next few years. But the way to a functioning rail system is still far.

The trains are still uncomfortable and not as busy in long -distance transport as hoped. The strict austerity course also causes unrest within the workforce. “The first half of 2025 was characterized by great progress that we made in the field of economy,” says rail director Richard Lutz. “Due to the high construction activity and still poor plant quality, these measures are not yet reflected in punctuality as we want it.”

Passengers do not feel anything of the first financial improvements

63.4 percent of all long -distance trains came to their destination in the first half of the year without any major delay. So far, the group has been below the target of at least 65 percent this year and continues to rank at the bottom of all punctuality values since the 1994 rail reform.

The subsidiary DB Infrago responsible for the infrastructure is therefore 350 million euros in the renewal of facilities and the maintenance of the infrastructure. The money is to be largely taken from the special fund of the federal government.

Despite the situation in the infrastructure tense for passengers, the demand increased in the first half of the year: 943 million travelers were traveling in the long -distance and regional traffic of the group – around 24 million passengers more than in the first half of the previous year. 66.3 million travelers were counted in long -distance transport (plus 2.1 million). According to Lutz, Lutz has not yet been decided whether driving prices will increase again in December.

Despite increasing demand in the first half of the year, the railway had a loss of 760 million euros. After all: In the same period last year, the minus was around one billion euros larger. In addition to its own savings efforts, the reason for the improvement is also a coverage of construction costs by the federal government, which the train had stretched out for renovation work. The railway states that the railway is to come back to black in the operational area this year, emphasized Martin Seiler.

The savings efforts are also at the expense of the workforce: The renovation program provides for around 10,000 jobs to be reduced, especially in the administration by 2027. The mood of the employees is at a low point, emphasized the chairman of the EVG railway and transport union, Martin Burkert. There is a lack of staff, the work is condensed, and economic uncertainty also contains. “The current renovation program may improve the balance sheets at short notice, but it must not harm the operation in the long term.”

The largest problem children within the group include long-distance and freight traffic. The transport subsidiary DB Cargo, which has been crazy for years, will have to write black again next year, so the EU Commission has determined it as part of an aid process. Under the direction of Sigrid Nikutta, the company has significantly reduced its own losses. Nevertheless, an operational minus of around 97 million euros was after the first six months.

Losses were also incurred in long -distance transport – albeit significantly less than in the same period last year. While the business area runs its own goals in the event of punctuality and train utilization, it is above the plan when it comes to the result.

Both daughters currently depend on federal funds, with which the recently increased rail toll is to be compensated. Lutz was confident about long -distance transport that the industry will receive the desired 200 million euros for 2026. In contrast, only 105 million euros have been planned in the federal budget for the current year. For both years, freight transport still has a clear gap between the planning of the federal government and the wishes of the industry.

Refurbishment of the network continues

By the mid -2030s, the railway wants to fundamentally renovate around 40 busy routes. The start was on the Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim last year. The renovation of the Emmerich-Oberhausen route is currently underway, and work between Hamburg and Berlin begins on Friday evening. Because the routes are fully blocked for months, the concept among competitors meets criticism. Freight traffic must sometimes accept long detours, which is associated with loss of sales.

The so -called general renovations also cost a lot of money. The renovation of the Riedbahn alone devoured around 1.5 billion euros. 2.2 billion euros are estimated for the much longer route Hamburg-Berlin. The money comes mainly from the federal government, which has once again significantly increased the funds with the special fund for the infrastructure -financed special fund in the next few years.

“This is a good message,” emphasized Lutz. Nevertheless, he warns again that in particular, in particular from 2027, financial gaps will continue to threaten to renovate and expand the infrastructure as it would be necessary. “Against the background, what should actually be invested so that it becomes good, I still advertise more funds from 2027.”