Richard Lutz is departing prematurely.
In a surprising turn of events, Richard Lutz, the CEO of Deutsche Bahn (DB), Germany's state-owned railway company, has announced his premature departure from the position. Lutz, who has been at the helm since the beginning of 2017, will continue in a caretaker role until a successor is officially appointed.
Lutz's departure comes amidst a severe economic and operational crisis that the railway company has been grappling with for years. The company has been posting losses for years, and punctuality in long-distance traffic has decreased from 78.5% in 2017 to 62.5% last year.
The railway company's future strategy, announced by Minister Schnieder in late summer, remains unclear, especially who will succeed Lutz as CEO. Numerous candidates have been speculated about, including the short-term Finance Minister Joerg Kukies (SPD) and DB Regio CEO Evelyn Palla.
However, Lutz will not be able to oversee the end of the turnaround program he initiated in 2024, aiming to improve infrastructure, railway operations, and economic efficiency within three years, with thousands of jobs to be cut. The program includes around 40 general renovations on particularly important routes, with construction currently underway on the Hamburg-Berlin route.
Lutz's tenure was not without controversy. He took an increasingly confrontational stance, warning that the funds from the federal government were insufficient to make the railway future-proof and criticizing the lack of support for balancing track prices.
Despite the challenges, Lutz's departure is not expected to lead to immediate improvements in operating conditions. The problems are more profound and support the course of renovation for the infrastructure over more than a decade. After the renovations, there should be significantly fewer disruptions on the routes and no further construction sites for several years.
The new federal government also plans to restructure the supervisory board and the railway board to increase specialist expertise and streamline operations. The expected successor for Lutz has not yet been named, and the search for a suitable candidate is ongoing.
[1] Bundesbahnchef Lutz verlässt frühzeitig das Amt [2] Deutsche Bahn: Richard Lutz verlässt frühzeitig das Amt [3] Deutsche Bahn: Richard Lutz verlässt frühzeitig das Amt [4] Deutsche Bahn: Richard Lutz verlässt frühzeitig das Amt
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