DB board approves EUR 1 billion investment plan for procurement of new trains

Berlin, Germany (Urban Transport News): The DB board (Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG) approved a new Management Board structure and earmarked EUR 1 billion investments for the procurement of additional trains on Thursday's meeting.

The DB board also gave the green light at the meeting to further expand the long-distance fleet. and the investment will have another positive impact - hundreds of new jobs that will be created as a result. So far, 137 ICE 4, 23 ECx and 17 KISS trains have already been ordered for the coming years.

The board approved the purchase of 30 additional high-speed trains (HSR), which will significantly increase the number of seats on the high-speed Cologne-Rhine-Main and Munich-Berlin lines in particular.

According to DB's specifications for the manufacturer, the new trains will add at least 11,400 more seats on long-distance trains beginning in December 2022. The specifications also call for eight bicycle spaces per train. The DB Supervisory Board's decision is another big step in implementing the Strong Rail strategy, specifically the aim of doubling passenger numbers on long-distance trains.

In addition to this EUR 1 billion investment, DB Long Distance is investing EUR 500 million in expanding its ICE maintenance depots, which will create even more jobs. DB's Frankfurt-Griesheim depot will undergo a major expansion to allow more trains to be serviced there. Plans are already in the works to expand the Cottbus depot. DB will create 600 new jobs in all as a result of these investments.

Apart from the above, the DB Supervisory Board appointed the 50-year-old Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) in the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG. Dr. Nikutta, who holds a doctorate in psychology, will assume the newly created role of Member of the Management Board responsible for Freight Transport on January 1, 2020. She will also head DB's freight transport business, as Chair and CEO of DB Cargo, in Mainz.

There is a lot of work to do in freight transport if we are to meet the company's ambitious goals. Restructuring the Management Board will give Dr. Nikutta the decision-making flexibility she will need.

Dr. Richard Lutz, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO announced:

We are looking forward to working with Sigrid Nikutta and joining forces to tackle the work ahead of us.

Dr. Nikutta worked at DB Cargo from 2001 to 2010, when it was known as DB Schenker Rail Deutschland AG. One of her main responsibilities was block train transport, and she also sat on the Management Board of DB Schenker Rail Polska.