Bundesrechnungshof zur Bahn: “The crisis at DB AG is becoming chronic”

The Federal Court of Auditors criticizes the situation of the railway in clear words. It becomes a case of restructuring that endangers the entire railway system. The auditors are demanding a “script” from the federal government in order to work through the problems systematically.

The President of the Federal Audit Office, Kay Scheller, has warned of a permanent crisis in the railways. “The crisis at DB AG is becoming chronic, the group is developing into a restructuring case that endangers the entire railway system,” said Scheller when presenting a special report on the railway structure. The “railway system has become even more unreliable and the economic situation of DB AG has continued to deteriorate”.

The report highlights the unpunctuality in long-distance transport, which has become significantly worse in the past year, and the rapidly increasing debt level of the railways. The group now has more than 30 billion euros in debt, and five million have recently been added every day. “DB is becoming a bottomless pit.”

Examiners call for federal “script”.

Together with the infrastructure, which is in need of renovation in many places, the federal government’s goal of doubling passenger transport by rail by 2030 and increasing the rail share in freight transport to 25 percent is unattainable.

The management of Deutsche Bahn has repeatedly announced improvements, but promises such as “Strong Rail” or the Deutschlandtakt are ineffective empty phrases, said Scheller. The federal government must present an overall concept “that contains its goals and is a script to systematically resolve the backlog.” It must be clear “what kind of track and how many tracks the federal government wants at what cost”.

The report also calls for a spin-off of the rail network from the group. “The previous organization as an integrated group did not prevent the permanent crisis of DB AG,” it said. The federal government does not want to change this. Train stations and the network should continue to belong to the railway company, but be geared towards the public sector.

More state and no more foreign business

Some of the points criticized by the Court of Auditors were already in the last special report by Bahn from 2019. These include the numerous foreign participations of Deutsche Bahn, which the Court of Auditors has now bumped into again. In the meantime, however, the company has started to work through some points, so it wants to part with the logistics subsidiary Schenker.

In the opinion of the examiners, there should generally no longer be any foreign business. They propose a reorientation: more influence from the federal government, for example through more seats on the supervisory boards, no more business outside of Europe, and what does not strengthen the rail sector does not belong in the group.

Bahn not solely to blame

But the head of the audit office, Scheller, didn’t blame the railroad management alone for the misery. “The federal government has accepted a flawed system for years, stood by and did nothing to counteract it. The federal government is responsible here, it is the sole owner, it is a donor, it is required to shape transport policy.”

Scheller referred to the Basic Law: The federal government is obliged to ensure a functioning railway for the common good. He must live up to this responsibility.

Wissing refers to earlier transport policy

In response to the report, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing referred to the concept for route rehabilitation, which is already being worked through “point by point”. “The branch lines are currently being refurbished so that the general refurbishment of the most heavily used corridors can start quickly,” explained the FDP politician. But he also referred to the transport policy of the past few years, which cannot simply be reversed: “What we cannot do is govern backwards.”

The Court of Auditors does not consider it certain that the general renovation will work as planned by Wissing’s ministry: “It remains to be seen whether this will work in the implementation – the planned implementation is also controversial among experts and associations,” it said. In addition, the renovation alone is not enough to enable Deutsche Bahn to achieve its growth goals. The Federal Court of Auditors is now forwarding its report to the Bundestag.