Monopolies Commission recommends breaking up the Deutsche Bahn – THE WORLD

If the Monopolies Commission is ready with Deutsche Bahn CEO Rüdiger Grube, is supported by the Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) hardly anything left. For years, the independent advisory body to the federal government is working on the state-owned enterprises from web, criticized the strong, dominant position in many areas of the transport giant and demands that the rail network it is taken away. But in the latest report, is available to the “world” in part, the Commission goes even a step further.

Photo: AP The Monopolies Commission wants the German Rail gives its rail network

In its special report ‘Competition policy from the track “, which is passed on Wednesday by the Federal Government, note the experts that the” prospects for a successful development of competition unsatisfactory “were. Private railways or the Germany-owned by foreign state-owned enterprises would continue to “Disabled” by the “existing market power” of Deutsche Bahn.

This result is almost a mantra The Commission, however, is new, the consistency with which a correction is required. The web is proposed for the rail network. Those DB-divisions ie, organize the public and freight transport should be separated from the DB network, which manages the railway infrastructure and railway stations. And for the logistics and rail freight business sees the Monopolies Commission – unlike for passenger – a privatization before

The train will with 150 projects are digital

              150 projects, the German Railways presented, with whom she wants to be more attractive in the future: more WLAN is one of them, better travel information, as well as speaking escalators. Source: Zoomin.TV

In the report reads as follows: “The Monopolies Commission is in favor (…) for a complete separation of infrastructure and transport sectors by ownership privatization of the transport companies of Deutsche Bahn AG.” He continued: “In a first step, the global transport and logistics provider DB Schenker Logistics and DB Schenker Rail could to be disintegrated ownership rights through privatization.”

push comes to unfavorable time

Taking in consideration that the federal government has no intention to privatize the passenger, would be at the end of this process, three separate units: The state network, the passenger which is more in the hands of the federal government, and the Anyway privatized freight transport companies.

For the train boards the Monopolies Commission has always been a red flag, but this time comes the attempt at a particularly controversial point. Deutsche Bahn CEO Grube tries to stop the melting away of the profits of the web with an extensive savings and Group restructuring program. On July 27, one day before the announcement of the half-year figures, the Supervisory Board shall decide on the plans of the Board to do so. Still, it’s mostly about personal details. “First we talk about heads, then in December on their approaches,” says a board member.

But a content block Grube that will help significantly, the to make rail more efficient, has already leaked: the structure, according to which DB consists of two companies, DB AG as a holding company and guardian of the network and the DB Mobility Logistics (DB ML), in which the passenger and freight transport business is bundled to, disappear. Mine wants an Holding (DB AG), depend on the number of companies, so the all-encompassing, experts call it the “integrated group”.

The European Commission also wants a separation

The current dual structure, conceived in times of soaring stock market plans, is too complex and expensive. Sits down, however, the Monopolies Commission by this dual structure would not only cemented, they would be the starting point for a final resolution of the web.

The will of many DB Critics, including liberal market forces such as the FDP, demanded for a long time. But the most persistent advocate of splitting is the European Commission. Their traffic commissioners penetrate incessantly for years on a separation of network and operations and threatened the Federal Government regularly with a method.

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              distance buses are not in competition with the railway, find Rüdiger Grube. He has even tried one, of course incognito. Its review: The trip was uncomfortable – and the bus came late. Source: The World

Like Monopolies Commission argue that Brussels that the web could discriminate against competitors if they manage the rail network and the network use even simultaneously. The DB could their own subsidiary companies a competitive edge safely. You can track prices, ie the fee set for the use of railway infrastructure at will. You could have an influence on how and where competitors are selling their tickets at the stations and how their traits appear on the schedules and ads.

Railway defends itself against accusations

About the operating conditions, the competitors of Deutsche Bahn complain regularly, but the counters: No Group will thus be monitored, as the DB AG. “We look at the Federal Network Agency, the Federal Railway Authority and the Monopolies Commission on the finger. More control will not do,” said a railway manager. And it states that virtually no complaints from competitors of the track with the Federal Network Agency. “We do not discriminate.”

In addition, competitors have 2013 passenger transport between a market share of now more than 26 percent. For the Monopolies Commission is not an argument. It recognizes the market share of rivals, but also notes that no longer grow.

“In recent years, there were no significant changes in the situation . The German Bahn AG dominates the segments rail passenger transport (regional rail), long-distance passenger (SPFV) and rail freight (SGV) clearly and is this dominance assert the long term while maintaining the same trend, “it says in the report.

Bus-distance transport is rail under pressure

Basically, the trend is right. But what the study ignores is the fact that the track was last markedly suppressed as long-distance transport by offers from transportation companies on the defensive.

And the defeat recently at the invitation of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express train (RRX), the most important railway project in NRW for the next decades, shows that the dominance of the web is far from set in stone. Now the competitors must first show that they can also operate in such large networks.

But really worried should train pit boss in the face of Rumorens the Monopolies Commission but not , CDU-led federal governments have shown in recent years, no willingness to dismantle the web.

And should the SPD pleasure in filleting show you could quickly . pass There is only one issue which can irritate the prudent or sluggish depending view Transport union ECG really to the death: the separation of infrastructure and operation. And the EVG is well networked in the SPD.