Chaotic conditions

“Wild prairie”: Kern rages against Deutsche Bahn

Kern is still firmly anchored in the train business - which makes the catastrophic performance of Deutsche Bahn all the more annoying for him.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Delays, cancellations: for years now, Deutsche Bahn's services have barely been on track. Former Federal Chancellor, ex-ÖBB boss and current railroad manager Christian Kern has now also spoken out about the misery. A journey across the border is like a trip into the "wild prairie".

In an interview with the German newspaper "Die Zeit" (Thursday edition), Kern sees a management problem at DB. "There are too many levels at Deutsche Bahn, too many managers running around, plus a number of management consultants. It will never work out that way," Kern emphasized.

It was only on Tuesday that ÖBB boss Andreas Matthä said at a press conference about the difficulties at his neighbor: "Not a single freight train is on time in Germany." ÖBB now employs 30 people in Vienna who monitor the traffic of ÖBB freight trains in Germany alone. Despite all the criticism of Deutsche Bahn, Kern defended its boss Richard Lutz: "Lutz is an excellent man. Knowledgeable, he deserves trust."

Anyone currently travelling with Deutsche Bahn should bring sufficient time reserves with them; the privatized company is not getting the situation under control, especially in long-distance transport.

(Bild: AFP)

Kern calls for "announcements from the top"
 For Kern, head of Austrian Federal Railways from 2010 to 2016, Deutsche Bahn needs "announcements from the top" and funding that is independent of election results. Kern considers the demand from politicians that Deutsche Bahn must make a profit to be "the biggest lie of the railroads". Rail infrastructure is a public good and a state responsibility. "We have to say goodbye to the idea that we will ever make real profits," he explained.

"A family member is constantly being lost in the vastness of DB"
 The poor state of DB is damaging his company - the ex-chancellor is Managing Director of Vienna-based European Locomotive Leasing (ELL) - and also his private life. "A family member is constantly getting lost in the vastness of the German rail network - at least temporarily," says the former politician of the Republic of Austria, describing his "worry lines".

However, he has also developed a sporting approach. "Yes, you know, we in Austria oscillate between overestimating ourselves and having an inferiority complex towards our big neighbor, and when something goes significantly better for us, then there is a sporting joy," Kern remarked to Die Zeit.

From the sewing box of party politics
And he talked from the sewing box of his time as head of the railroad in Vienna, when he halved the management. I remember that I called the leader of the ÖVP parliamentary group soon after the start and said to him: "I'm now throwing out 15 people who belong to the conservatives. Of course he didn't agree," said the former SPÖ chancellor. His response was: "We can discuss this on a stage in front of the public. I will then explain why I consider these people to be his stuffed animals, who are unsuitable and only obstruct the store. After an hour, his resistance was gone. I threw the people out."

He also had similar conflicts with his party, the SPÖ. "Party friends and the works council were boiling when I threw social democrats out the door. In a crisis like that, you have to use the power of new beginnings," Kern looked back.

"It's all lederhosen, no laptop"
 Kern is also critical of rail travel to Germany. "When you cross the German border from Austria to Salzburg, it's like coming from Silicon Valley to the wild prairie - it's all lederhosen, no laptops." He is alluding to criticism that the reception and internet along many German railroad lines is dilapidated.

Austria is in a much better position here. "At ÖBB, for example, we are always guaranteed funding for six years, not just for one legislative period, and almost three times as much is invested in the railways per citizen. The Germans focus much more strongly on the debt brake," says Kern.