The Monopolies Commission had previously recommended dividing the railways into an infrastructure and a transport division.
(Photo: IMAGO/Michael Gstettenbauer)
Berlin The Monopolies Commission, a body that advises the federal government on competition issues, is calling for Deutsche Bahn to be split up. “The Deutsche Bahn Group needs to be restructured,” says Jürgen Kühling, Chairman of the Monopolies Commission, of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
The plans of the traffic light coalition, which envisage the formation of an infrastructure society oriented towards the common good, are “a sensible component of a comprehensive reform package”, adds Kühling. “The planned restructuring is a good step towards unbundling. In the end, the big winner has to be rail.” Politicians must seize this opportunity now. The conversion should not just be a label change.
Cooling wants to publish the 9th “Railway Sector Report” prepared by the Monopolies Commission this Tuesday and hand it over to the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Transport. In it, the experts campaign massively for more competition in the rail sector and for comprehensive reforms.
The new network company must be geared to the common good: “This point must not be watered down during implementation,” says Kühling. Only then did the travelers benefit. The Monopolies Commission has long been calling for Deutsche Bahn to be broken up, and the state-owned company to be divided into infrastructure and transport divisions.
More: Ticket sales anti-competitive: Cartel Office puts Deutsche Bahn in its place