The consequences of the Corona crisis put heavy strain on the railways, and many trains, especially long-distance trains, are underutilized. The federal government now wants to help with a financial injection. The railways themselves are planning to cut costs - this also affects the board.
Berlin (dpa) - The federal government is planning a billion-dollar equity increase at Deutsche Bahn to cushion the economic consequences of the Corona crisis. The debt ceiling is also to be raised.
This emerges from a paper that was available to the German Press Agency. The newspapers of the Funke media group had previously reported on this.
The federally owned group has come under economic pressure due to the negative effects of the Corona crisis. The Supervisory Board wants to meet this Friday (May 15). Deutsche Bahn cut back on its offer during the crisis, but most of the timetable was maintained - in order to maintain basic services. However, passenger numbers have plummeted. According to the paper, long-distance transport is particularly affected, with losses of around 90 percent in the so-called passenger kilometers in April.
From today's perspective, the paper from the Ministry of Transport and the Treasury assumes that the corona pandemic will result in liquidity-related economic damage of EUR 11 billion in a base scenario and up to EUR 13.5 billion in a more negative scenario.
At the beginning of May, dpa learned that Deutsche Bahn would need an additional eight to ten billion euros by 2024. The railway could take over up to half of this.
According to the paper, the federal government is ready to compensate 80 percent of the damage from the corona pandemic by increasing the equity of Deutsche Bahn - this is currently an estimated 6.9 billion to 8.4 billion euros. This is subject to a state aid review by the EU Commission. Arriva and DB Schenker also belong to the group.
The first tranche of 4.5 billion euros should be made available in the next few weeks, the paper said. The Federal Government wants to propose this to the budget legislator. The remaining funds are then to be decided in the fourth quarter of 2020 depending on the known level of damage and will be made available at the turn of 2020/2021.
In addition, in agreement with the Bundestag's Budget Committee, the current debt limit of around EUR 25 billion is to be expanded. The railroad was just below it before the crisis. This is intended to give the Group more scope to compensate for damage from the Corona crisis through additional loans from the capital market.
According to the paper, Deutsche Bahn assures that it will contribute half of the gap in the "Systemverbund Bahn", up to 5.1 billion euros. The focus is on personnel and material expenses.
For example, the Group Management Board should not receive any bonus payments for 2020. In addition, effects on the variable remuneration of the board of directors of subsidiaries and for managers in the company are expected. A savings volume of around 150 million to 180 million euros is expected.
"To tackle the crisis together and in solidarity, everyone involved is required to be part of the solution," the paper says. This is the only way to avert permanent structural damage for the group.
In addition, further savings are planned for the railways, for example through the reduction of additional services as well as old vacations and "flexible withdrawal" of long-term accounts. In the medium term, organizational structures are to be streamlined. There are savings in material expenses, for example through adjustments in marketing. Structurally, according to the paper, price effects from renegotiation of purchasing should be used and the "travel and representation expenses" adjusted. According to paper, investments should not be saved, but projects could be delayed.
Rail plays an essential role in the federal government's climate protection program. Last year, the federal government decided to make additional billions available to the railways in order to modernize the sometimes dilapidated rail network.
