Deutsche Bahn plans massive investments

Germany's state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn plans to make the biggest investment in its history between now and 2014, a company official told the Berliner Zeitung Saturday.

• Deutsche Bahn planning high-speed trains to southern France and UK - Business & Money (2 Jul 10)

The rail company will invest some €41 billion ($51.5 billion) in its operations, 75 percent of which will be spent on the rail network and modernizing the stations, with the remainder for acquiring new trains, the company's technical director Volker Kefer said.

Deutsche Bahn plans to purchase up to 300 new high-speed "ICx" trains to succeed the current ICE model, he said.

"For regional transport, we envision buying up to 400 electric trains" as well as 600 buses for local travel, Kefer added.

With these investments, "travel times will be shortened, trains will be more reliable and punctual, and they will be more comfortable," he said.

A major European railway and logistics provider with dealings in some 150 countries, Deutsche Bahn is undergoing extensive international expansion. In April it acquired Arriva, one of Britain's top transport firms.

Deutsche Bahn employs about 240,000 people, three-quarters of whom are based in Germany. Revenues last year were €29.3 billion.

In Germany alone, the rail company has 34,000 kilometres (21,126 miles) of track, and each day transport more than seven million passengers by train and bus.