The cargo manager of Deutsche Bahn, Sigrid Nikutta, speaks in an exclusive Merkur interview about the future of the transport industry and the role of the railways in it.
Munich - Sigrid Nikutta, 52, has been CEO of DB Cargo since last year.
The doctor of psychology (five children) is a determined climber in the rail industry.
She was head of the Berlin transport company before moving to the DB board.
If DB boss Richard Lutz falls, Nikutta could follow.
The railways are calling for investments in rail freight transport that sound breathtaking: 52 billion euros over the next eight years - who are you trying to provoke?
Nikutta:
It is the first time that the entire industry will pull together to increase the rail market share in freight transport from 19 percent today to 25 percent by 2030.
That's a house number.
We have to differentiate when it comes to the sum: Part of the sums mentioned, 21 billion, is already planned for in the budgets of the federal and state governments.
The freight railways want to invest 13 billion themselves - in new locomotives and wagons.
There remains a delta of 17 billion euros.
And yes, this is about the climate goals of the EU and for this planet - that is the target for every federal government.
What to do with the money
Nikutta:
The industry association is proposing a 100-day program.
We need a new spirit for the railways, we have to anchor that in the minds of the decision-makers.
For example, the EEG surcharge for the railway has to go.
Details also finally have to be settled.
For example, the semi-trailers of the trucks must be cranable - that is a basic requirement for them to be able to be loaded onto the train at all.
That has to be standardized, throughout Europe.
Is German transport policy pegged to the car?
Nikutta:
I think it's good that the rail is moving more and more into focus.
Right now it's balanced.
I would like a preference for the rail.
The most environmentally friendly means of transport - the one with the least CO2 emissions - must be promoted the most, otherwise we will not achieve the climate targets.
There was a time when the railway wanted to stop single wagon traffic.
Now put the focus here.
Why?
Nikutta:
Indeed.
Our topic is the increase in single wagon traffic - this is essential for the shift from road to rail.
18 percent of rail freight traffic in Germany is single wagon traffic, 2000 trains a day.
We want to expand that further.
We want to collect single wagons and smaller groups of wagons from smaller, medium-sized companies, which are then put together into trains in the marshalling yards.
Single wagon traffic assumes that there are tracks in commercial areas.
Nikutta:
We demand: Every new industrial park needs a siding.
That should become law.
There are already role models: The Interfranken business park near Ansbach, for example, was only approved because a siding was built.
In the next step, existing commercial areas have to be retrofitted.
We're looking at this with a lot of customers right now.
The federal government has issued a new siding subsidy guideline - this is a first step.
We also have many disused sidings - they have to be reactivated.
Parcel Post has huge potential.
Sigrid Nikutta
Companies have completely said goodbye to the railways.
Nikutta:
Yes, it was like that.
But there is a rethinking.
Customers do not ask about “whether”, but rather about “how” - how they can rely on the rails.
It is complex - and at the same time more environmentally friendly than any other type of freight transport because we travel entirely by rail.
Deutsche Post DHL is a great example: DHL transported two percent of its parcels by rail at the beginning of the year, in August it was already six percent, and by the end of the year it should be eight percent.
Today, 50 Parcel Intercity buses travel across Germany every week - from Berlin to Cologne or twice a day from Munich to Hamburg.
There is huge potential here: 100,000 parcels fit on one train.
Is there still space on the rails for more parcel trains?
Nikutta:
Yes, of course - there is still capacity, especially at night. And if we digitize with the ETCS signaling system, we can bring up to 30 percent more capacity to the rails without having to build a new meter of track. We want to equip the locomotives with ETCS and equip the freight wagons with the digital coupling - the wagons then click together as if drawn by magnets. We have agreed on a specific dome system across Europe. This model is now to be built into test trains. After the trial phase, almost 500,000 freight wagons and 17,000 locomotives need to be converted as quickly as possible. Around half of the 500,000 freight wagons are in Germany once a year and are coupled with a German train. We need start-up funding from the EU for the clutches.
It was almost clear that you were now asking for money again.
Nikutta:
Well.
It's not for free.
A clutch costs around 17 to 18,000 euros, the entire conversion will cost six to eight billion, say experts.
That is a manageable number, with a view to a traffic turnaround in favor of our climate.
Interview with DB Cargo boss Nikutta: The modular freight wagon is coming
You also need new freight cars if you want to handle additional traffic.
Nikutta:
DB Cargo and the freight car rental company VTG have developed a modular freight wagon, the m2 platform concept, on which different superstructures are possible.
This means that I can transport wood in autumn and gravel or containers in the same wagon in spring.
This makes us more flexible and we can use the freight wagons all year round.
The first wagons will be used by customers this year.
Are your own rail freight routes conceivable?
Nikutta:
If you were to build a new network on a green field, then yes.
But we have mixed traffic, so we have to live with that.
I am happy about every new line - because then the old line is more free for freight traffic.
Lines for freight traffic alone are rare.
One of the strengths of single wagon traffic is that we can also serve medium-sized customers with freight trains across regional routes.
Mixed traffic makes a lot of sense.
Over two million trucks drive the Brenner route every year.
Why can't you put them on the train?
Nikutta:
First of all: Especially in intermodal transport across the Alps, when we pack truck trailers onto the rails, there are the highest growth rates in the entire industry.
There are currently 200 trains running through the Inn Valley, the capacity could be enough for 250 to 260 trains.
If the line is equipped with ETCS, it will be even more efficient - experts assume up to 320 trains per day.
We have room to grow.
The northern access route to the Brenner is expected to be ready in 2040.
When it comes to rail, we have a clear plan and we know what to do.
We also have to implement major infrastructure projects in Germany - that is the be-all and end-all.
The interview was conducted by Dirk Walter.