Weselsky for union proposal
Train drivers’ union wants to split up the train
04/17/2023, 5:00 a.m
The Union believes that Deutsche Bahn will do better if the Minister of Transport sets the tone for infrastructure. A separation of network and operations would also please the head of the train drivers’ union. The group is currently known for being unpunctual and unreliable, says Weselsky.
The Union faction’s proposal to split up the group in view of the problems at the railways met with approval from the train drivers’ union GDL. The current system leads to unpunctuality and unreliability, said GDL boss Claus Weselsky to the news radio MDR according to a pre-announcement. It is therefore right “to cut out the infrastructure with one cut and to ensure that the infrastructure can be managed and controlled more closely by the federal government”.
The Union’s proposal is also correct because the federal government can then issue instructions to the managing directors. This is not possible in a joint-stock company. An improvement in conditions will only be noticeable “if we manage to invest billions in tax money in the infrastructure”.
At the weekend, a position paper by the Union faction in the Bundestag became known, which envisages the splitting up of the group. In the concept, summarized on six pages, the state of Deutsche Bahn is sharply criticized: unpunctuality, broken trains and unreliability are the order of the day for many journeys by train. The desired shift in traffic from other modes of transport to rail has not been achieved in recent years.
EVG and SPD strictly against breaking up
Therefore, a major railway reform and the separation of infrastructure (rails and stations) and transport operations are necessary. The infrastructure area is therefore to be transferred to a federally-owned, directive-bound GmbH. The Ministry of Transport is to have greater access to the expansion, new construction and conversion of the railways.
The separation of network and operation is an ongoing debate in transport policy. The FDP and Greens also have sympathy for this, the SPD and the railway union EVG reject them strictly. The only provision in the traffic light coalition agreement is that the network will no longer be run as a stock corporation. Instead, it is to be managed together with the stations of “Station&Service” in a society oriented towards the common good under the umbrella of the group.