Subnostr

Why do German's think that Bahn AG is not state owned? Oh right, cause it's a publicly traded company, a result of the "privatisation" of rail, telecommunications and co many years ago. But...

Deutsche Bahn AG (Bahn AG) is indeed a joint-stock company (Aktiengesellschaft), but it is 100% owned by the German federal government through a holding company called Bundeseisenbahnvermögen (BEV). So despite being "publicly traded" in legal form, it's effectively state-owned — there are no private shareholders.

That's why train stations and co are being protected by the "Bundespolizei" at a cost of approximately €64 million annually while the rail network itself is lacking maintenance across the entire country.

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Discussion

𝕞ptf 6mo ago

It's a huge scam. Since the fake privatised it, it has gotten worse.

When the government properly ran all these services before, everything was much better and cheaper for people, because the people benefitted with much cheaper or mostly free services. Now profits go to billionaires and the public gets shafted.

TheGrinder 6mo ago

Indeed. That's because they were (visibly) accountable for the functionality of these networks. That changed with the fake privatisation.

Chris Krause 6mo ago

That's true, but don't forget that inflation has a large role to play here, too.

The so-called government made something worse:

TheGrinder 6mo ago

What does the inflation have to do with the government not maintaining the rail network. To an extend that costs lives?

Chris Krause 6mo ago

Inflation makes everything more expensive, also everything Die Bahn has to pay and the expenses of the government. So, inflation forces everyone to cut expenses. In other words, everyone has to make their product cheaper, so that they don't have to rise their prices at the same rate the money inflates.

TheGrinder 6mo ago

I get you now. The thing is, travelling with train in Germany is literally more expensive than flying these days unless you book weeks in advance (just like for flights). The cost vs service when travelling with DB makes no sense any more. Where I live the rails are overgrown including along the platforms of the stations. Fences around the station property are broken down. When arriving the city's name on the entry points is unreadable. The counter is closed most of the time, only ticketing machine. Oh, and last year a train derailed on the way to Garmisch costing actual lives.

Chris Krause 6mo ago

I completely support your frustration. Besides inflation and corrupt practices, there are two more factors at play here:

1. The Deutschlandticket makes the cheaper trains very overused, which lowers the quality of the service a lot.

2. Germany is a "car country". There are literally laws, which state that using cars *has* to be better than using public transport.

TheGrinder 6mo ago

I'm not really frustrated just pointing out how fucked up all of this is.

Agree on 1 and 2!