After presenting the railway’s balance sheet, the passenger association Pro Bahn says the company is moving in the right direction under its new chief executive, Evelyn Palla.
Chairman Detlef Neuß told the “Rheinische Post” on Saturday that Palla has stopped lying to passengers and telling them that everything will be fine in a short time. “She is being honest with herself and with the company” he said.
Neuß added that, amid repeated billion‑level losses, it is also the owner’s duty to ensure more state money is injected into rail. “If Palla wants to reach her goals she will need support from both politics and the company itself” he said. “We’ll see whether that works”.
He described the rise in passenger numbers as understandable. “In local transport it’s thanks to the Deutschlandticket, and in long‑distance travel it’s because of traffic jams on the roads”. He warned that with high fuel prices, Easter will likely bring even more riders, creating a challenge. Since the railway can’t magically add capacity, “it will again become an image question whether the railways can cope this Easter”.