THE CEO of German Rail (DB), Dr Richard Lutz, announced his resignation on August 14.
Lutz had come under increasing pressure from both politicians and organisations in the German rail sector in recent years due to the continued poor performance of DB, in particular its long-distance and freight subsidiaries, which have both suffered from unreliable infrastructure.
The latter, DB Cargo, has been loss-making for years, including a €357m loss in 2024, and is currently engaged in a strategy intended to achieve profitability by the end of 2026. DB’s long-distance division, which is responsible for the majority of the country’s inter-city services, recorded its worst-ever punctuality figures in 2024, including a low of 52.9% in June when Germany was hosting the European football championships.
Despite the €14.3bn sale of its logistics subsidiary DB Schenker earlier this year, DB’s recently announced interim results were lacklustre, with the organisation as a whole aiming merely to break even this year. This follows a €333m operating loss for 2024 announced in its annual results in March. Flagship projects, such as the late-running Stuttgart 21 station redevelopment project, which appears to have landed DB a €7bn bill for cost overruns, have consistently been mired in controversy.
A successor to Lutz has not been announced, although federal transport minister, Patrick Schnieder, says he will remain in post for what is expected to be a relatively short transition period.
Appointed for a 10-year term in 2017, Lutz was previously chief financial officer, a role he took on in 2010. He has worked for DB for over 30 years, joining the state-owned operator in 1994.
Industry response
Rail industry groups say that Lutz’s resignation is an opportunity for the company and Germany’s rail sector to change course.
"Lutz has never consistently implemented the "railways for Germany" mantra internally,” says Peter Westenberger, managing director of the German Rail Freight Association (Die Güterbahnen). “Instead, he has relied on the low and declining productivity of DB and the tacitly accepted unfair competitive conditions on the roads to be replaced by more and more subsidies from politicians.”
“It is a good thing that Lutz is clearing the way for a new strategy and new minds. For the minister of transport, it is now even more urgent to create a resilient framework that capable rail managers can follow as a basis for positive change.”
