The newly appointed CEO of Deutsche Bahn, Evelyn Palla, is signaling a sweeping overhaul of the national rail operator’s leadership structure and accountability, directly linking performance to personnel consequences. In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Palla emphatically stated that the focus will shift from explaining failures to identifying and enacting the decisions necessary for success, emphasizing that a lack of responsibility must be addressed with tangible repercussions.
This declaration follows a prior announcement regarding a decentralization of decision-making power, shifting authority from central headquarters to regional managers. Regional leaders will now be entrusted with control over workshops, rolling stock and train personnel, simultaneously holding responsibility for ensuring trains are reliably ready for scheduled operation. This move is explicitly designed to eliminate the pervasive culture of blame-shifting that has plagued the company, fostering a more robust sense of ownership across the network.
Palla, who assumed her leadership role just three months ago, acknowledged the limitations of addressing the deeply entrenched infrastructure deficits in the short term. She critically assessed the current organizational framework, concluding that the reliance on centralized decision-making hinders the company’s ability to effectively manage daily operational challenges. The centralization, she argued, prevents a swift and impactful response to problems encountered across the vast and complex network.
The timing of Palla’s intervention is notable; October’s performance data revealed a historic low point in punctuality, with only 51.5% of long-distance trains arriving within a five-minute window. While the changes proposed are welcomed by some as a necessary corrective measure, critics within the political sphere are already questioning whether a personnel shake-up alone can resolve the systemic issues that continue to hamper Deutsche Bahn’s performance. Concerns remain about the potential for increased regional fragmentation and the possibility that decentralization could simply diffuse responsibility rather than truly empower local teams to deliver real, sustainable improvements. The coming months will be crucial in determining whether Palla’s bold strategy can effectively revitalize the national rail infrastructure.