According to a railway document, the crisis-ridden freight railway slips ever deeper into the crisis. The economic situation of DB Cargo is "dramatic", according to a draft of a letter from the Deutsche Bahn to Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, which was the Reuters news agency.
Thus, the current difficult situation at DB Cargo continues to grow. "The recent economic downturn, particularly in the automotive and steel sectors that are critical for DB Cargo, leads us to expect a loss well above 2018 in 2019."
Since Cargo had made 190 million euros loss, which should actually be reduced in 2019. The danger of a compulsion to re-write off the company value, as in 2015, continues. At that time, the billions in depreciation had pushed the entire group into the red.
Bahn: Draft not yet finalized
The railway explained to the letter draft, this was a compiled by speakers and not yet verified Verified collection of materials. The facts were not finally discussed or decided by the group management.
Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer had warned in a letter to railway chief Richard Lutz more speed improvements overall and a concept by mid-November demanded. He had put a focus on the situation of the rail freight DB Cargo. The background is that the owner of the federal government wants to help the railways in the course of the climate package annually with billions in amounts. But he wants compensation.
Bahn boss Lutz defended himself in the meantime in the "time" publicly against the ultimatum Scheuers: "grass does not grow faster, if one pulls on it," he said according to preliminary report. You can not get better all the time from one day to the next.
In the letter draft it is pointed out that improvements have been achieved at DB Cargo in many places such as customer satisfaction. However, there should not be a "farewell": "The worrying state of affairs requires comprehensive restructuring." The current recession is massively increasing the pressure to act. " The federal government must help here: "The political support and long-term support of the owner is essential."
