German rail firm Deutsche Bahn plunges deeper into red
The German rail company Deutsche Bahn saw heavy losses in the first part of 2024, with significantly fewer passengers catching long-distance trains. Some 30,000 jobs are set to be cut.
Deutsche Bahn admits it needs to do a lot to repair aging infrastructure
Germany’s national rail operator Deutsche Bahn made a loss of more than €1.2 billion (roughly $1.3 billion) in the first half of 2024, according to the group’s half-year report published on Thursday.
The company has attributed much of the shortfall — far bigger than for the start of 2023 — and the schedule delays to strikes, extreme weather, and advance payments for much-needed infrastructure improvements.
Revenue was €22.31 billion in the first half of 2024, 3% below the first six months of 2023, which stood at €23 billion.
However, the news was worse at the bottom line, with a loss of €1.231 billion from January to June. For the same period the previous year, losses stood at €71 million.
Significantly fewer passengers traveled with Deutsche Bahn on long-distance trains across the country in the first half of the year than in the same period last year, the operator said.
According to the group, 64.2 million travelers used long-distance trains in the first six months of the current year — a figure 6% down on the first half of 2023.
