railway manager position to be taken up by Evelyn Palla
Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national railway company, is set for a change in leadership as Evelyn Palla is proposed to become the new CEO. The announcement, made by Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU), comes amid a severe crisis at Deutsche Bahn, with poor operational performance, dilapidated infrastructure, and economic struggles.
Palla, born in 1973, has a rich career history in the industry. She has worked for Infineon Technologies AG, Eon, and the Austrian Federal Railways, where she was responsible for regional traffic and held the position of supervisory board chairman of ÖBB Postbus AG.
The new strategy, to be presented on Monday, aims to address these issues of punctuality, infrastructure, and profitability. The strategy, titled "Agenda for satisfied customers on the rails," is a comprehensive reform package aimed at fundamentally transforming Deutsche Bahn and the rail sector to restore punctuality, reliability, cleanliness, safety, and accessibility by 2029. It includes a target of 70% on-time long-distance trains, improved transparent customer communication, and more attractive stations.
The strategy also involves restructuring Deutsche Bahn leadership, with Palla appointed to implement the strategy. However, the exact details of the new strategy and how it has been worked out are not known.
The current situation of Deutsche Bahn is described as "dramatic." In August, only around 60% of long-distance trains were on time. The high construction volume currently burdens punctuality, with a large proportion of long-distance trains passing at least one construction site during their journey. To address this, improvement in punctuality is expected from a new construction site management, where construction sites will only be planned in certain time windows.
Palla's appointment comes at a time when the federal government is under pressure to cut spending. It will be interesting to see how much money Minister Schnieder can secure for Palla from Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil in the future. The financial need for Deutsche Bahn is vast, and the corporation recently received significantly more funds, but these funds were warned to be insufficient to secure the railway's future by the then-CEO Richard Lutz.
Lutz, who has been leading Deutsche Bahn since the beginning of 2017, will be succeeded by Palla. Despite the new strategy, Palla's appointment needs to be confirmed by the supervisory board of Deutsche Bahn, with the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
Palla has the backing of Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder, but it remains to be seen if this will be enough to secure the future of the railway. The focus of the new strategy includes making the train punctual, safe, and clean, as well as making the corporation faster, leaner, more powerful, and more economical. With Palla at the helm, Deutsche Bahn is hopeful for a brighter future.
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