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DB Cargo

DB Cargo AG
DB Cargo
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryLogistics
Founded2009 (2009)
HeadquartersMainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Key people
Sigrid Nikutta, CEO
ProductsRail Transport
Maintenance
Revenue€4.5 billion
Number of employees
29,525 (2019)
ParentDeutsche Bahn
Subsidiaries20 worldwide, including freight and contract logistics
Websitewww.dbcargo.com

DB Cargo (previously known as Railion and DB Schenker Rail) is an international transport and logistics company. It is responsible for all of the rail freight transport activities of the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (the DB Group) both inside Germany and on a global level.[1] DB Cargo has a registered office in Mainz and a further administrative office in Frankfurt am Main.[2][3]

The company was founded as DB Cargo AG on 1 January 1999 under the second stage of liberalisation reform of the German railway system (Bahnreform) underway around this time. Initial operations were primarily focused on the rail freight market within Germany; however, during early 2000, the company was reorganised under the Railion holding company as part of a merger between DB Cargo and the Dutch state-owned rail company Nederlanse Spoorwegen's rail freight operations. This new structure was designed for the cooperation, and incorporation, of future partnerships with other rail freight companies; between 2004 and 2009, Railion expanded its operations into Italy, Switzerland, and Poland, typically via acquisitions. Following the acquisition of Schenker AG in the early 2000s, the company was restructured again and adopted the DB Schenker Rail branding. During 2016, to indicate its core focus on rail freight transportation, the company was once more rebranded as DB Cargo AG; this naming scheme has been progressively replicated across the majority of its international subsidiaries as well.

The services provided by DB Cargo include both block train and single wagonload transport services, the latter of which have been abandoned by many of the company's rivals.[4] Based on the number of kilometres travelled, DB Cargo is the market leader in both Germany and Europe, although its transport services have been in decline for several years.[5][6] Seeking to reverse this decline, a more flexible price structure was adopted alongside various cost-cutting measures in 2016. During the early 2020s, major global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine have challenged the company and driven changes. Within the context of the battle against climate change, however, the role of DB Cargo is also thought to be increasingly important,[7][8] as the company offers transport options that are entirely carbon neutral.[9] However, the company has been criticised for a lack of investment into both its rolling stock and infrastructure, and thus constraining its performance. In late 2019, Sigrid Evelyn Nikutta took on the role of CEO of DB Cargo.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Integrierter Bericht 2019 – Deutschland braucht eine Starke schiene" (PDF) (in German). Deutsche Bahn. pp. 188–189. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  2. ^ Heidenreich, Ralf (27 July 2018). "DB Cargo will Talfahrt stoppen und 2020 wieder wachsen" (in German). Wiesbadener Kurier. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  3. ^ Hessedenz, Maike (20 March 2020). "DB Cargo wieder vereint in Mainz". Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). p. 9.
  4. ^ "Intramodaler Wettbewerb im Schienengüterverkehr" (in German). Forschungsinformationssystem. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  5. ^ Ebner, Christian (2 June 2019). "Deutsche Bahn: Transportleistung der DB Cargo seit Jahren rückläufig" (in German). Aachener Zeitung. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  6. ^ Heinrici, Timon (15 October 2019). "Die stärksten Wettbewerber der DB im Güterverkehr" (in German). Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ). Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  7. ^ Arnold, Matthias (28 December 2019). "Ach du meine Güter! Warum der Anteil des Gesamtgüterverkehrs auf der Schiene seit Jahren bei 19 Prozent stagniert" (in German). Rhein-Zeitung.
  8. ^ Torebko, Dorothee (18 February 2020). "DB Cargo: Güterbahn ist aus dem Takt" (in German). Märkische Oderzeitung. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  9. ^ "DB Cargo steigert Anteil CO2-freier Beförderungen" (in German). Verkehrsrundschau. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  10. ^ Heflik, Katharina (8 November 2019). "Sigrid Nikutta: BVG-Chefin ab Januar für Güterverkehr der Deutschen Bahn zuständig". Die Zeit (in German). Zeit Online. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  11. ^ Hoffmann, Kevin P. (13 March 2020). "Von der BVG zur Deutschen Bahn: Sigrid Nikutta hat eine harte Mission" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 15 April 2020.

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