View abstract of
Chairman of the
Executive Board

Chairman’s letter

Dr. Richard Lutz
CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG

Dear readers,

The Covid-19 pandemic has been receiving far less public attention in recent weeks, but the optimism we were all hoping for has not materialized. Europe is facing a situation that most people would have considered impossible. The impending political and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine are impossible to assess at the current time.

At Deutsche Bahn, we stand for a peaceful, free and democratic Europe. We bring people together and take goods to their destination. Supporting refugees, transporting aid and alleviating suffering are therefore, as ever, a self-evident part of what we do. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks to all those who have offered their help and continue to do so.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, natural events such as the flood catastrophe and long-lasting strikes, we faced more adversity in 2021 than we had hoped. Despite the pandemic, however, we welcomed more passengers to our long-distance trains in 2021 than in 2020, despite the fact that in the first months of the previous year there were no Covid-19 restrictions and record numbers of passengers.

People who want to
protect the climate
while remaining mobile
take the train.

Demand at our rail freight transport business unit also increased, despite many adversities. DB Cargo transported more goods and recorded a higher volume sold in 2021. In December, we were significantly above the previous two years, and for 2021 as a whole we were at the same level as in 2019. Our logistics subsidiary, DB Schenker, has had another good year with record revenues and profits creating stability for DB Group.

In 2021, DB Regional was a consistently reliable player in the German regional transport market. As some competitors withdrew from the market, DB Regional remained reliable. In early 2022, for example, DB Regional managed to acquire parts of the Abellio transport providers in North Rhine-Westphalia in an organizational tour de force.

So we feel an ongoing confidence in DB Group, the railways, our logistics services and Strong Rail.

It is undeniable, however, that conditions in 2021 were once again challenging. Although our results have improved significantly compared to 2020, our net position is still a loss. We have nonetheless continued to invest, modernize and provide qualifications at a record level in 2021. We intend to continue on this path and return to profitable growth from 2022.

Rail is crucial to ensuring a wide variety of green mobility and logistics options in Europe. People who want to protect the climate while remaining mobile take the train. People who need to be on the move during difficult times can rely on rail. Over the last two years, the railway has shown itself to be crisis-proof. The same is true of our strategy: before the Covid-19 pandemic, Strong Rail was the right strategy for people, the economy and the climate. It has stood the test of the pandemic, and will continue to guide us beyond it.

In 2022 we are investing
13.6
billion euros in stations
and the rail network.

Significantly increasing our capacity on the rail network will be crucial. That is why we are investing together with the Federal Government as never before. Having invested about 12.8 billion euros in stations and the rail network in 2021, our investments for 2022 will amount to more than 13.6 billion euros. We are also working on our fleet: at the end of 2022, our customers will be able to experience the first ICE 3neo series trains between North Rhine-Westphalia and Munich. We have recently ordered another 43 trains in this series from Siemens. Our ICE fleet will grow to about 360 trains by the end of 2022, compared to about 270 five years ago.

Our ICE fleet will grow
to about
360
trains by the end of 2022.

We took an important climate protection step in 2021: we have brought our target for climate neutrality forward to 2040. Our commitment to greater climate protection is attracting interest: for the fifth time in a row, we have featured on the “A-List 2021 – Climate Change” published by the globally oriented charitable organization CDP. The report at hand has been drawn up for the first time in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). Deutsche Bahn also expressly upholds the principles of the UN Global Compact.

In 2022 we are investing
13.6
billion euros in stations
and the rail network.
Our ICE fleet will grow
to about
360
trains by the end of 2022.

Rail is crucial to ensuring a wide variety of green mobility and logistics options in Europe. People who want to protect the climate while remaining mobile take the train. People who need to be on the move during difficult times can rely on rail. Over the last two years, the railway has shown itself to be crisis-proof. The same is true of our strategy: before the Covid-19 pandemic, Strong Rail was the right strategy for people, the economy and the climate. It has stood the test of the pandemic, and will continue to guide us beyond it.

Significantly increasing our capacity on the rail network will be crucial. That is why we are investing together with the Federal Government as never before. Having invested about 12.8 billion euros in stations and the rail network in 2021, our investments for 2022 will amount to more than 13.6 billion euros. We are also working on our fleet: at the end of 2022, our customers will be able to experience the first ICE 3neo series trains between North Rhine-Westphalia and Munich. We have recently ordered another 43 trains in this series from Siemens. Our ICE fleet will grow to about 360 trains by the end of 2022, compared to about 270 five years ago.

We took an important climate protection step in 2021: we have brought our target for climate neutrality forward to 2040. Our commitment to greater climate protection is attracting interest: for the fifth time in a row, we have featured on the “A-List 2021 – Climate Change” published by the globally oriented charitable organization CDP. The report at hand has been drawn up for the first time in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). Deutsche Bahn also expressly upholds the principles of the UN Global Compact.

In 2021 we were once again able to prove ourselves to be a reliable provider of sustainable mobility for people and goods, even under difficult conditions. We are an anchor of stability and will continue to be in the future.

Sincerely

Richard Lutz

Dr. Richard Lutz
CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG

The Management Board of the Deutsche Bahn AG

Here you will find information on the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG. The Management Board consists of seven members. The Chairman is Dr. Richard Lutz.

To the curricula vitae of the members of the Management Board
Dr. Levin Holle
Finance and Logistics
Learn more
Dr. Daniela Gerd tom Markotten
Digitalization and Technology
Learn more
Dr. Richard Lutz
Chairman of the Management Board
Learn more
Berthold Huber
Passenger Transport
Learn more
Dr. Sigrid Nikutta
Freight Transport
Learn more
Ronald Pofalla
Infrastructure
Learn more
Martin Seiler
Human Resources and Legal Affairs
Learn more
to overview
Download Center
Interactive key figure comparison

Short and compact: Our Quick Reads

Here you have the opportunity to click through our so-called Quick Reads. These are summaries of interesting topics. You can select the category via the filter.
Filter according to:
IR newsletter
Print version
IR contact
Key figure comparison