Deutsche Bahn CEO Criticizes Management for "Organized Irresponsibility"

Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla has initiated a significant overhaul of the company, directly criticizing its management for a pervasive "organized irresponsibility." Palla stated that a lack of performance culture and a tendency to shift blame between central administration and operational levels have contributed to the state-owned enterprise's persistent problems.

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The performance culture of the past was not sufficient for the performance of the Bahn, we want to change that.

"The performance culture of the past was not sufficient for the performance of the Bahn, we want to change that," Palla told Welt am Sonntag, according to a pre-release. She highlighted that managers often faced few consequences for repeatedly missing targets, as long as they could adequately explain why goals were not met. Palla stressed her focus is on solutions, not excuses, noting that the company has "never had a problem with understanding, but for too long a problem with implementation."

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We had never had a problem with understanding, but for too long a problem with implementation. That has demonstrably not led to success.

This criticism is directed at the management level, not the frontline workers. Palla referred to train attendants, drivers, dispatchers, track workers, and schedulers as "my heroes" for their daily efforts to keep the railway operational amidst unsatisfactory conditions and improvisation.

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All those who fight with an unsatisfactory situation every day and have to improvise a lot, they are my heroes, who keep the railway running daily.

The comments come as Deutsche Bahn released its half-year results, showing a record 960 million passengers and the first profit in seven years. However, punctuality for long-distance trains was only 59% between January and June, falling short of the 60% target for the year. Palla cautioned against expecting rapid improvements, citing ongoing network disruptions and construction as major hurdles. "Punctuality will remain difficult this year," she stated, adding that anyone promising otherwise would be misleading the public.

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Punctuality will remain difficult this year, because there are simply too many disruptions in the network and also too many construction sites. Anyone who promises anything else here is misleading people.