GERMANY OFF THE RAILS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2023 :: RMTnews 14 German railways Deutsche Bahn (DB) was created on January 1, 1994 following the merger of east and west German railways which created a government-backed private joint stock-company with hundreds of subsidiaries. While the federal government remained the nominal owner its only role was to take on historical debts and £4 billion in yearly pension obligations. As a result of this arrangement DB is not subject to public sector law. However, it has become global giant in freight logistics and passenger transport buying up Britain’s largest rail freight operator EWS in 2007 and rail and bus operator Arriva in 2010, as well road hauliers around the world in more than 150 countries. German rail infrastructure has also become a byword for underinvestment, catastrophic decline and delays. The Sunday Times recently revealed that Swiss railways was now refusing to let German trains access to its network because of delays caused by Germany’s collapsing rail infrastructure. Swiss Transport authority head Peter Fuglistaler said: “Half of the international trains from Germany arrive late in Basel. If we let them continue, it would mess up the Swiss timetable”. So how did the myth of German railway efficiency collapse so profoundly? The answer lies in the neo-liberal dogma pervading DB which ensures little or no governmental or democratic control. Back in December 1993 German MPs had voted overwhelmingly to merge Bundesbahn, west German railways, and the former east German network Reichsbahn and turn them into a private stock company, known as Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG). DB AG was to be three new stock companies, for passenger transport, freight transport and a third for infrastructure. This form of deregulation removed ‘civil servant’ status from nearly half of all rail employees who had previously enjoyed a lifetime no compulsory redundancy guarantee. At the same time, a Tory GERMANY OFF THE RAILS Thirty years of underinvestment and deregulation has left the German rail network on the brink of collapse CRISIS: The Sunday Times exposed the growing crisis at DB