DB Supervisory Board approves new Management Board structure and earmarks EUR 1 billion for new trains

At Thursday's meeting, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG approved a new Management Board structure and earmarked EUR 1 billion for investments in additional trains.

Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), Germany's largest public transportation company, will be joining the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG. The DB Supervisory Board appointed the 50-year-old at an extraordinary meeting. 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.

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.

"There is a lot of work to do in freight transport if we are to meet the company's ambitious goals," said Michael Odenwald, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. "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."

The DB Supervisory Board also gave the green light at the meeting to further expand the long-distance fleet. The investment will have another positive impact: hundreds of new jobs 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 Supervisory Board approved the purchase of 30 additional high-speed trains, 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.