Overview

• Richard Lutz was dismissed on August 14 and will serve in a caretaker role while the government immediately starts the search for his successor.
• Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder has set September 22 as the date to unveil a comprehensive plan aimed at streamlining management and improving service reliability.
• Under Lutz’s leadership, long-distance punctuality plunged from about 78.5% in 2017 to roughly 62.5% last year, costing Deutsche Bahn hundreds of millions in passenger compensation.
• Deutsche Bahn remains under severe financial strain with more than €20 billion in debt, ongoing operating losses despite a €4 billion government rescue injection and plans to cut 10,000 administrative jobs by 2027.
• Major infrastructure upgrades—such as the prolonged closure of the Berlin–Hamburg line—and a proposed €500 billion national fund are slated to modernize the network but will take years to complete.