ACCORDING to the German news magazine Der Spiegel, the new CEO of German Rail (DB), Evelyn Palla, who only took up her new post on October 1, plans to dismiss the CEO of DB Cargo, Sigrid Nikutta, who also serves as management board member for freight at DB. Nikutta is expected to step down on October 30.
DB Cargo is Europe’s largest rail freight operator, running freight services in many European countries. However, it has been performing badly. Although DB Cargo reported a 28.2% reduction in its annual loss, from a negative Ebit of €497m in 2023 to a negative Ebit of €357m in 2024, there is still a long way to go to reach breakeven, let alone make a profit.
DB Cargo reported a 16% fall in total freight traffic from 35.7 billion tonne-km in the first half of 2024 to 30 billion tonne-km this year, while first-half traffic in Germany dropped by 22.8% from 24.4 billion tonne-km in 2024 to 18.9bn tonne-km in 2025.
According to Der Spiegel, a recent assessment by DB questioned whether DB Cargo’s turnaround plan would succeed in resolving its underlying problems or restoring competitiveness. While the assessment believes it should be possible to restore DB Cargo to profitability, it says the current plan does not go far enough and will take to too long to achieve its goals.
Time is of the essence. The European Commission has prohibited DB from using government funding to cover DB Cargo’s losses after the end of this year, which means DB Cargo needs to return to profitability next year. Failure to do so could result in drastic surgery, such as slashing loss-making wagonload services and selling off parts of DB Cargo.
The EVG railway union recently called for Nikutta’s dismissal. The union told Der Spiegel that her track record at DB Cargo was “devastating” and criticised what it called a “headless strategy of shrinking and dismantling.”
Nikutta joined DB in 2020 from Berlin Transport (BVG) where she served as CEO.
