(de-news.net) – Deutsche Bahn has announced a return to profitability and record passenger numbers in the first half of 2026 while Germany advanced rail competition reforms and expanded AI- driven customer services. What is more, an enforcement of a planned nationwide alcohol ban at railway stations as well as the use of body cameras are being debated.
After reporting a loss of roughly 760 million euros during the same period in 2025, Germany’s state-owned rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, reportedly returned to profitability in its core business during the first half of 2026 for the first time in seven years, posting a surplus in the low hundreds of millions of euros. Chief Executive Evelyn Palla is scheduled to present the company’s official half-year results on Thursday. Despite continued criticism over poor punctuality, the railway group also recorded its highest passenger volume since the pandemic, with more than 960 million passenger journeys during the first six months of the year—an increase of 17 million compared with the same period a year earlier.
According to the company, higher fuel prices were the principal factor behind the increase in rail travel, as many commuters reportedly shifted from private cars to trains while ticket prices remained largely stable. Demand for long-distance services also strengthened from April onward, supported by a series of promotional offers. Around 600,000 travelers used last-minute tickets, approximately 200,000 purchased family tickets for vacation travel, and roughly 50,000 customers ordered the free Youth BahnCard 25, reflecting broader efforts to stimulate demand across different passenger groups.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Federal Network Agency has proposed measures aimed at opening the country’s rail infrastructure more extensively to competing operators. Under the draft framework, DB InfraGO AG would be permitted to allocate no more than 60% to 75% of available train paths to a single railway company on routes subject to designated capacity limits. The proposal is intended to ensure that competitors can obtain access to heavily congested corridors, including planned capacity-constrained hubs such as Munich and Frankfurt, thereby making it easier for new operators to enter Germany’s scheduled long-distance passenger rail market where infrastructure bottlenecks exist.
Federal Network Agency President Klaus Müller said the proposal was designed to strengthen competition in the long-distance rail sector, arguing that greater market rivalry should ultimately improve service quality while reducing fares for passengers. He pointed to operators such as FlixTrain and Italy’s Italo, noting that companies planning major investments in rolling stock have faced uncertainty over whether sufficient track access would be available to support commercially viable services.
Under the proposed rules, the allocation requirement would apply only to regularly scheduled services operating at least four times a day on a consistent two-hour timetable and only in cases where demand for train paths exceeds available infrastructure capacity. Existing allocation procedures would remain unchanged on routes without officially designated capacity constraints, where the regulator said it lacks the legal authority to require different allocation practices.
The regulatory review was initiated following a complaint filed by Italo, which has announced plans to invest approximately 3.6 billion euros to launch commercial long-distance passenger services in Germany beginning in April 2028. The project envisions 56 predominantly daily train services, including an hourly Munich–Cologne–Dortmund connection and a Munich–Berlin route operating every two hours. Before issuing a final ruling, the Federal Network Agency will consult the Railway Infrastructure Advisory Board, the Federal Cartel Office, and the Monopolies Commission as part of the regulatory review process.
Staffing becomes focus of Germany’s planned alcohol ban in railway stations
In a separate announcement, Deutsche Bahn said it plans to invest an additional 50 million euros by the end of 2027 to improve customer communications, with artificial intelligence forming the centerpiece of the initiative. The program, presented by Palla alongside Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder, aims to provide passengers with faster and more reliable travel information, particularly during operational disruptions. Planned measures include expanding the AI-powered virtual assistant Kiana to deliver multilingual travel information, introducing the new DB Info app by the end of 2026, installing 7,000 additional passenger information displays at stations, and transferring the central passenger information platform to DB InfraGO to provide integrated real-time information across different rail operators. The initiative also forms part of a broader effort to improve the overall passenger experience through enhanced communication, cleanliness, and station security.
The announcements coincided with a political debate over a nationwide alcohol ban scheduled to take effect at German railway stations beginning in mid-October. Lawmakers from both the governing CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD argued that Deutsche Bahn should significantly expand its own security workforce before implementing the measure. Conservative lawmaker Alexander Throm maintained that stronger internal security efforts should be matched by sufficient personnel to enforce the new rules, while SPD lawmaker Sebastian Fiedler similarly argued that implementation should depend on a substantial increase in staffing within DB Sicherheit, the railway company’s security division.
Police union representatives likewise stressed that primary responsibility for enforcing the alcohol ban should remain with Deutsche Bahn rather than the police. Heiko Teggatz, chairman of the German Police Union, argued that the measure falls under the railway operator’s property rights and therefore requires additional private security personnel, with police intervention limited largely to situations in which individuals refuse to comply. Although he supported the ban on the grounds that alcohol and drug consumption frequently contribute to violent offenses, he warned that police would nevertheless face additional deployments and cited an estimated shortage of around 3,500 officers assigned to railway station policing.
The proposal also received backing from Andreas Roßkopf, head of the Police Union’s Federal Police branch, who said enforcement should be manageable with existing police resources. He argued that railway stations have increasingly become focal points for criminal activity, citing nearly 28,000 violent offenses recorded around stations last year. Roßkopf further contended that comparable alcohol bans already in place in Munich, Frankfurt, and Hamburg had contributed to measurable reductions in crime and violent incidents, presenting those cities as evidence supporting broader implementation of the policy.
Deutsche Bahn Turns to body cams in did to strengthen passenger safety
Deutsche Bahn has also announced that employees working on its long-distance rail services will now have the option of wearing body cameras as part of a broader effort to strengthen onboard security. The voluntary measure, unveiled by the state-owned railway operator, will initially be introduced for more than 2,000 employees, including onboard train personnel, catering staff, and reception employees in DB Lounges, before being expanded in stages. The company said the initiative is intended to complement existing security measures and further enhance the sense of safety for both passengers and employees across its long-distance network.
Before receiving the devices, participating employees will be required to complete dedicated training covering the legal framework governing the use of body cameras, the operational conditions under which they may be deployed, identification requirements, and the practical handling and operation of the equipment. Deutsche Bahn presented the training as an integral component of the rollout, emphasizing that the technology would be introduced within clearly defined legal and operational parameters.
Michael Peterson, the Deutsche Bahn board member responsible for long-distance passenger transport, said the introduction of body cameras represented another building block in the company’s broader security strategy. He said the measure was intended to reinforce the sense of safety among both passengers and employees while supporting existing security arrangements on long-distance services, which the company described as already being safe.
The initiative also received backing from employee representatives. Manfred Scholze, chairman of the central works council, characterized the introduction of body cameras as an important signal and said the council supported the measure. At the same time, he emphasized that maintaining voluntary participation remained a key condition of the agreement, underscoring that employees would decide individually whether to wear the devices as the program is implemented in phases.
