The Federal Government has failed with the attempt of an immediate replacement of rail finance chief Alexander Doll for information of the SPIEGEL and Reuters news agency for the time being.
Doll will keep his post initially, despite the attempts of Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and Supervisory Board Chairman Michael Odenwald to remove him from office, it was said from insider circles. There should now be a special meeting of the body for the staff, probably in less than two weeks.
Doll had been accused of informing the government and the supervisory board about the planned sale of the suburban subsidiary Arriva too late and insufficiently. Doll has denied that according to Group circles and a voluntary departure rejected.
On the panel, Reuters reported that there was not a sufficient majority for a recall Dolls. He enjoys sympathy as a reformer, especially on the employee side. In addition, voting on Doll would have had to change the agenda, which also met with resistance. Deutsche Bahn does not comment on personnel matters and internals of the Supervisory Board.
Sale of daughter DB Arriva to be stopped
In addition, the railway wanted to stop the planned multi-billion dollar sale of their foreign subsidiary DB Arriva for the time being at the meeting. The expected proceeds were significantly below the book value, it said in the environment of the Group.
The sale should actually bring additional billions for the railway in Germany. The group had been looking for a buyer for months and at the same time prepared an initial public offering as Plan B. For CFO Doll, the suspended sale means a setback.
Arriva operates buses and trains in 14 European countries, but accounts for around 60 percent of its sales in the United Kingdom, where it is based. An IPO therefore carries risks because it is not certain when and how Britain will leave the EU.
The railway had originally taken Arriva for just under three billion euros. The sale should bring in at least the same amount again. Now, according to information from SPIEGEL on the Arriva sale on the Supervisory Board at the earliest in January, or perhaps only in April will be decided. This depends on the date of departure of Great Britain from the EU.
New boss for the goods division
Arriva has been part of the largest German state-owned company since 2010. Years ago, Deutsche Bahn wanted to partially bring its daughter to the stock market. After the vote of the British for an EU exit and a financial injection of the federal government the plans were stopped 2016 however.
The railway is heavily in debt. After the planned sale had tightened, the supervisory board decided in September, first over a bond up to two billion euro fresh money to take up.
At the meeting, the Supervisory Board also appointed a new Chief Executive Officer for the cargo division DB Cargo. The former head of Berlin's public transport company, Sigrid Nikutta, is to get the goods business out of the red and get a position on the board of management.
The 50-year-old starts at the railways on 1 January and also takes operational responsibility at DB Cargo. Nikutta joined DB Cargo in 2010 from DB Cargo, where she is responsible for the buses and trains in the capital. Her successor at the national company is still open.
Billions in new trains
The Supervisory Board also approved the purchase of another 30 high-speed trains at its meeting. They are to be used primarily on the high-speed lines Cologne - Rhine-Main and between Munich and Berlin.
As of December 2022, the billion-euro investments will generate at least 11,400 additional seats. Deutsche Bahn is thus one step closer to its goal of doubling passenger numbers in long-distance traffic.
In addition, 500 million euros will be invested in the expansion of ICE plants in long-distance transport. The DB thus creates a total of 600 new jobs.
