Heiko Büttner has been head of the Munich S-Bahn for seven years. Now the 55-year-old is climbing a step higher on the career ladder. As of June 1st, he will become Deutsche Bahn’s (DB) corporate representative for Bavaria, replacing Klaus-Dieter Josel, 63, who is retiring after 21 years as Bavaria’s railway boss.
The group representative directs the fortunes of DB throughout the Free State. These include, for example, the construction of the Brenner northern branch, the expansion of the Munich rail hub, the barrier-free conversion of train stations and of course the second S-Bahn main line in Munich. He not only has to be a manager, but also represents DB on the spot, listens to criticism from many places and responds to it in the interests of DB. This alone means that a Bavarian railway boss has a full calendar.
And Heiko Büttner is apparently going one better: as chairman of the management team at the Munich S-Bahn, he will continue to focus on strategic issues, the DB announced. Büttner could not be reached for an interview on Tuesday. How he wants to combine both positions and what he plans to do as the new DB Group representative will probably only be explained after he takes office, according to the DB press office.
As can be heard from railway circles, Büttner is considered the preferred candidate of his predecessor Josel. The qualified lawyer definitely has experience – including in crisis management. A lot has improved in the S-Bahn over the past seven years: passenger information on the trains has improved, the trains themselves have been completely modernized, and the replacement for the fragile signal box at the Ostbahnhof is also scheduled to go into operation this year. However, the punctuality rate of the S-Bahn has fallen to a historic low – not least because of the partially dilapidated infrastructure. Heiko Büttner will certainly not be bored in the next few years.