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Bahn board members, boss Lutz (center): "Avoid governance requirements"
Photo:
Deutsche Bahn AG
Rail travelers can experience unusual things these days.
During the day you sit alone in the ICE open-plan car between Hamburg and Berlin.
The conductor joins in for a chat, and at the end the train arrives at the station exactly to the minute.
Apart from wearing a mask, this is heaven for customers.
The trains are only used to 20 percent capacity, but they run almost at the old rhythm.
And they were more punctual in 2020 than they have been in 15 years.
It's dramatic for the company.
Debts are increasing by leaps and bounds, according to the latest forecasts from December, 9.6 billion euros in losses will be added due to Corona.
"The railway is in the biggest financial crisis since the railway reform," warns DB boss Richard Lutz.
The federal government has already promised help;
Among other things, five billion euros are planned as an equity increase.
A pretty penny that the state-owned company urgently needs - only the rail board does not want to accept the money at all, at least not under the conditions currently being discussed.
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