Useless property or business card of a place? Deutsche Bahn is changing course and stopping the sale of its stations.
Deutsche Bahn wants to stop the sale of its own station building, which has been criticized by the association.
“Train stations are the gateway for travelers to the train, their buildings and forecourts are a place’s calling card,” said the group’s new infrastructure director, Berthold Huber, the German Press Agency on Monday. ‘You must be friendly and welcoming. That’s why we’re stopping the sale of our reception building.” The railway wants to further develop the areas together with the cities and communities in the future.
Accordingly, the approximately 700 reception buildings still owned by Deutsche Bahn are to remain there in the long term. Excluded from the sales stop are “a few” properties for which ongoing sales negotiations are already very advanced.
Old buildings are difficult to preserve
A few weeks ago, the Pro-Rail Alliance criticized the sale of station buildings by Deutsche Bahn. According to our own survey, more than 2,800 of around 3,500 station buildings have been sold in recent years. “Too many of the reception buildings sold are in an unsatisfactory condition today, many can no longer be used for travelers and there is no overview of who now owns which building,” said Dirk Flege, Managing Director of the Pro-Rail Alliance at the time.
Deutsche Bahn spoke on Monday based on its own figures of 2,300 reception buildings sold so far. Around 500 of these properties have been transferred to local authorities and the rest to private investors. According to Bahn, many reception buildings were sold because they were difficult to maintain. Now they are to be further developed – in cooperation with the municipalities.
The Pro-Rail Alliance welcomed Deutsche Bahn’s announcement on Monday. “Train stations serve the public interest and are crucial to get more people to switch to the trains,” said Flege. However, not only Deutsche Bahn is required here, but also the federal government, “which must make financial efforts to make the buildings fit for the future”.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
