Deutsche Bahn Plans Massive Savings Measures

As part of a savings plan aimed at making it more attractive for a future public offering, Deutsche Bahn is working on a plan to shave €100 million ($120 million) a year from its operating costs, a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung stated Monday. The national railway said it would eliminate 25 percent of its 4,000 positions at ticket counters in train stations across the country. Selling tickets for long-distance journeys alone costs the company is €500 million a year against sales of €3 billion, and it is looking to dramatically cut costs. In 2000, the company reduced the number of ticket counters and travel centers in stations from 896 to 592. The company wants to dramatically increase the percentage of customers who buy their tickets over the Internet or from automated machines in stations. According to the Süddeutsche report, Bahn's long-distance, high-speed and intercity trains are currently only running at 40 percent of their passenger capacities. The paper cited an internal government report stating that this figure would have to rise at least to 50 percent to make Deutsche Bahn attractive to stock market investors. The company is seeking to raise passenger levels through special offers that include €29 tickets to anywhere in Germany during August and as little as €39 to destinations in neighboring countries, like Holland or Austria.