The so-called shunting agreement is “essential to provide clarity and certainty to all parties involved during the execution of works along the entire port railway”, the Port of Rotterdam says. It defines the procedures for transferring trains administratively and physically, and which responsibilities apply to both contractors and clients.

Pilot

The project ‘Track Together’ will initially run for seven months in a pilot format. If proven successful, it will continue on a structural basis. Its goal is to prevent train cancellations and long delays. Terminals will benefit, according to the port, because their tracks can also be freed up for other planned trains.

“Track Together strengthens cooperation between rail operators in the Port of Rotterdam. By sharing information more effectively, the platform contributes to more efficient operations and a more reliable rail network for all parties involved”, commented Jordy Hermes, Product Design Specialist at LTE.

The Deutsche Bahn holding, DB Cargo’s parent company, published its annual report for 2025 last week: a good occasion to dive deeper into the circumstances at its freight subsidiary. Things are looking better, but not exactly rock solid. Further restructuring changes could provide the needed push to get DB Cargo back on track.

DB Cargo’s restructuring proceedings, which started in 2022, are not immediately visible when looking at the company’s basic financial indicator: revenue. Note that this number includes data from all of DB Cargo’s subsidiaries, including outside of Germany. Revenue has remained relatively stable, hovering between 4.5 billion and 5.5 billion euros since 2017.

EBIT is more ‘all over the place’

How different does that picture look when looking at Earning before Interest and Taxes (EBIT). EBIT is an indicator of operating performance, but does not yet include expenses such as taxes and interest payments. DB Cargo has not achieved a positive EBIT during any of the assessed years, with lows recorded during the pandemic years. In other words, the company’s operations are fundamentally unprofitable.

This is underscored by the operator’s performance figures. During the pandemic, DB Cargo broke the downward volume and operational performance trends. It transported more freight and did more transport work in terms of tonne-kilometres. Despite that, the finances were worse than ever. The more the company transported, the more money it lost.

That is clearly not a good sign for a rail freight operator – especially when it can no longer count on money transfer from its parent company Deutsche Bahn. But for all the criticism that DB Cargo has received, there has been a turnaround in 2022 in the company’s financial performance.

When looking at the EBIT figures, there is a clear change starting in that year. Since then, DB Cargo has only recorded year-on-year improvements on EBIT. In 2025, the operator came very close to operational profit at -7 million euros. There are various reasons for this, and there are also reasons to think that this may continue into the future.

Subsidies contribute most

The main windfall, which cannot directly be ascribed to sound business management or a restructuring, came in the shape of subsidies. Germany approved a 300 million-euro subsidy for single wagonload (SWL) traffic in 2024. DB Cargo received 163 million euros from those funds, which are also reflected in the EBIT figures. Moreover, DB Cargo received millions in track access charge (TAC) subsidies. In 2025, federal subsidies totalled 305 million euros (195 million for SWL, 78 for TAC, 32 for investments).

Additional federal funding has clearly helped DB Cargo to substantially improve its operational result. This, of course, is not necessarily a solid long-term plan. In order to continue cutting costs, the freight operator has put several plans on the table. These pertain to some of the biggest expenditures: personnel, maintenance and unprofitable contracts.

Halving the workforce

DB Cargo is planning a massive workforce reduction of over 6,000 employees. That would shrink the size of the workforce (in Germany) by around 50%. Across Europe, DB Cargo has over 25,000 employees. Terminations have helped to save 149 million euros on personnel costs in 2025.

The company has also been ending unprofitable contracts. This deliberately shrinks the company’s business, while improving operational performance. It has also sold the intermodal business of its subsidiary Transfesa.

This is reflected in the rolling stock fleet of the operator. Its size is shrinking, and has been shrinking consistently for a couple of years. Simultaneously, DB Cargo has sold 60 locomotives to Beacon Rail and around 6,000 wagons to GATX in sale-and-leaseback agreements. The share of leased and rented wagons in the overall wagon fleet has seen an uptick in 2025 – despite volumes declining.

The increase in the share of leased and rented wagons during the pandemic years coincided with a growth in volume. That is not the case now. If DB Cargo continues to pursue this path of operational flexibility, its owned wagon fleet could keep shrinking in size.

As a result, the provision of locomotives and wagons should become more flexible. This creates financial flexibility as well – DB Cargo won’t need to pay for their maintenance. The operator also gained 300 million euros from the sale.

Together, the termination of unprofitable contracts, reduction in volume and decline in maintenance costs (along with some other things) helped to shrink material costs by 292 million euros, DB said.

Will it be enough?

The DB restructuring proceedings will continue going forward. Decentralisation in several business units that have their own rolling stock and personnel at their disposal should help improve operational efficiency. Further workforce reductions, bonuses for long-haul drives for train drivers and far-reaching SWL remodelling (going to four central shunting hubs) should also aid financial performance.

DB Cargo will need to “clarify details” on its restructuring plan in the summer of 2026. Only then, gradual implementation of the newly proposed plan will begin. With -7 million euros in EBIT in 2025, the company is close to achieving a positive operational performance. However, its net financial result was around minus 40-60 million euros, according to CEO Bernhard Osburg. There is some way to go to profitability by the end of the year.

In Germany, the freight operator’s earnings grew thanks to several factors. These included higher revenues from compensation payments for locomotive supply contracts and infrastructure-related train cancellations. Additionally, government subsidies for single wagonload traffic, infrastructure, and track access charges contributed to the increased earnings.

On the other hand, DB Cargo saw a revenue decline of 434 million euros (-8%). This was driven primarily by performance in Germany and the United Kingdom (including metal transport), as well as in Spain (partly due to the sale of subsidiaries). Price adjustments, however, partially mitigated this reduction. When adjusted for negative currency effects, the decrease in revenue was slightly less significant, says the DB report.

Positive cost developments

At the same time, DB Cargo underwent some significant positive changes in the cost picture. Material costs shrank by 292 million euros. Lower activity levels, particularly reduced expenditure on maintenance services, energy, and purchased transport services, were the main contributors to the decline. The drop in maintenance costs was primarily a result of lower volumes.

Personnel costs were 149 million euros lower than in 2024, primarily due to reductions in the German and Spanish workforces. Depreciation also declined by 95 million euros – a result of an extension of the useful lives of locomotives and freight wagons in the balance sheet, as well as the sale of rolling stock.

Sale-and-leaseback

The latter point (at least partially) relates to the sale-and-leaseback of some 6,000 wagons (GATX) and 60 locomotives (Beacon Rail). “The sale and subsequent leaseback of part of the rail vehicle fleet is a contribution to the transformation of DB Cargo, making the provision of locomotives and wagons more flexible. The proceeds from the sale also contribute to improving the financial situation of DB Cargo”, the 2025 report specifies.

The Swiss freight operator SBB Cargo recently undertook a similar step, indicating that it improved operational flexibility. In the long term, the sale-and-leaseback will help reduce depreciation write-offs and reduce maintenance costs.

“Positive one-off effects from sale-and-leaseback transactions served as a bridge in 2025 until the implemented operational measures took effect”, explains DB. In total, DB Cargo got 300 million euros from the sale of the wagons and locomotives.

AI-supported forecasting introduces the concept of targeted availability, with easily available parts “planned more leanly” and parts more expensive and difficult to get are “reliably secured”. Moreover, the model provides information on mileage and maintenance levels creating the conditions for better forecasting.

The oil pump case

One example of how implementing this AI-supported model in Darmstadt has improved forecasting of spare parts is the case of oil pumps. “While the old method did not identify any demand, the AI model predicted five units – actual consumption was six. With delivery times of around 500 days, this determines whether a vehicle is out of service or remains operational”, DB Cargo explained.

But he went on to make it clear that in the event of DB Cargo reducing staff numbers in Germany, the French unit would not be affected in turn. “We had anticipated a decline in the volumes entrusted to us by our (German) colleagues, and they now represent only 25% of our business.

“The decline in staff numbers in Germany logically follows the decline in traffic volumes. These same volumes to and from the French and Spanish markets have been declining for four years (due to a combination of economic factors and the situation of DB Cargo in Germany). In France, we have offset the impact of a downturn in international volumes with domestic volumes and are thus able to maintain stable staffing levels.”

French subsidiary is in the black

In his interview with German media, Osburg also revealed that DB Cargo had recorded a 2025 full-year loss in the mid two-digit million euro range. An operating profit for the second half of last year had followed a 96-million-euro operating loss in the first six months.

However, it was likely that DB Cargo France had finished 2025 in the black, Gallo noted. “We are currently auditing the accounts for 2025, but I can already tell you that we are in positive position.” While admitting that it would be a major challenge, the DB Cargo group was aiming to post a net profit in the double-digit millions for 2026, Osburg added.

One thing that Gallo did not play down was the current economic climate DB Cargo France was operating in which he described as ”not very favourable.” This explained why the company was postponing the launch of its combined rail-road service between Paris and Daventry, Northamptonshire, England, in partnership with UK logistics company John G. Russell, from the first quarter of 2026 to later in the year.

As expected, trade union EVG will not support the massive job cuts at the freight operator, which would see nearly half the entire workforce leave DB Cargo in the coming years. “For us at EVG, one thing is clear: the last word has not yet been spoken!”

A last resort

The trade union adds that it will put forward proposals to strengthen DB Cargo while mitigating job losses. All alternative options must be exhausted before the company resorts to firing workers, says EVG. To that end, it will seek negotiations with the DB Cargo Board, which “will have to make concessions.”

Additionally, EVG does not believe that DB Cargo can remain a market leader with the remaining workforce if the plan goes ahead. The company would be left with 8,000 people among its personnel.

Besides the workforce reduction, the restructuring plan focuses on expanding into international markets, restructuring the single wagonload segment, and improving corporate culture. Despite EVG’s criticism, DB Cargo aims to remain a leading European rail logistics provider. However, success remains uncertain as details are finalised only by the summer of 2026.

New CEO Bernhard Osburg told the German press agency dpa that the company is planning to reduce the workforce by 6,200 by 2030. The current workforce consists of some 14,000 people. The measure will affect almost all areas, including train operations, dispatching, planning, administration, sales, and IT, writes Die Zeit.

Osburg had explained that DB Cargo recorded a 2025 loss equalling “a mid two-digit million amount”, meaning around the 40-60 million euro area.

The CEO said that he presented a restructuring strategy with a medium-term focus extending to 2030. Experts are expected to complete their evaluation of the plan by the end of February.

UPDATE:

The DB and DB Cargo Supervisory Boards seem to have endorsed Osburg’s restructuring plan. “DB Cargo should be able to live on its own again – and even more: we will be a rail freight operator with real European DNA”, Osburg wrote on LinkedIn.

DB Cargo’s four pillars of restructuring

Osburg wants to focus on four pillars: International markets, savings, a restructuring in SWL and corporate culture. In short, demand for rail transportation among Germany’s industries is weakening, so Osburg intends to focus on international markets instead. “We are significantly aligning sales, planning, scheduling, and production more strongly with European markets and are developing DB Cargo into the leading European rail logistics provider with clear, cross-border system solutions”, the CEO said.

In terms of cost savings, this is where the job cuts come in. DB Cargo wants to implement leaner administration and improve productivity. The restructuring in the SWL segment is also accompanied by severe job cuts of 2,000 positions. Osburg also plans to concentrate train formation operations at four main locations: Cologne-Bremberg, Seelze, Mannheim, and Nuremberg.

DB Cargo will continue to operate five additional shunting yards as flexible secondary locations. Of the current 27 maintenance depots, twelve are to be closed or sold.

In terms of corporate culture, Osburg said that he wants to stimulate responsibility among decision-makers at the operational level.

It is unclear if this plan will help DB Cargo succeed in becoming profitable by the end of 2026. The company still needs to clarify details, which it plans to do in summer. Gradual implementation will only start then. The single wagonload restructuring will continue into 2027.

The inspectorate does not provide a single explanation for the development, but says that more regular checks could have contributed to it. ILT has doubled its inspection capacity in recent years.

Most often, ILT finds that broken components, such as valves, cause the leaks. Fuels and oil, alcohols and other hazardous materials were most often leaked. Ethers and plastic resources did not show a notable increase in leakage incidents.

New inspection strategy expected to reduce incidents

ILT says that it intends to do more inspections during loading and unloading procedures in terminals. That should also decrease the number of leakages, the inspectorate says. DB Cargo Netherlands is happy with that plan, spokesperson Jelle Rebbers tells our colleagues at SpoorPro. “It will prevent irregularities being discovered on public infrastructure […] and that rail traffic needs to be stopped.” By taking up that position, DB Cargo represents a part of the rail freight industry that is supportive of ILT’s approach.

“By sharing targeted knowledge with all parties in the chain about the cause of the irregularity, we expect to achieve a substantial reduction in the number of irregularities”, Rebbers adds. “What would help us here is if the ILT were willing to share information about the nature of the leak more quickly with the sector. The confidentiality of this data, which in some cases is sensitive competition-wise, seems to be hindering the ILT in this regard. We are currently discussing this with the inspectorate.”

By contrast, Hans-Willem Vroon, head of the rail freight association RailGood, is not pleased with the ILT report. Vroon points out that ILT is very strict in its checks for leakages, so it also finds them more often. “Our wagon inspectors and train drivers sometimes also discover drop leakages. That is then taken care of very professionally.” In other words: not a reason for concern.

The RailGood head also questions the intensity of the Dutch ‘fixation’ on leakages compared to neighbouring countries. Other European countries do not nearly consider them as important as the Netherlands, says Vroon.

Reverse modal shift

The Netherlands’ focus on these leakages also has a negative impact on the Dutch rail freight industry. “Last June, there were strong complaints from Slovakia about the Dutch approach from wagon owners and industry”, the RailGood head states. “At the time, they were already threatening to avoid the Netherlands and to transport more by road.”

Moreover, rail operators cannot do much to resolve the problem, according to RailGood. The leakage problem often arises during loading and unloading, Vroon explains, and sometimes because there is a defect in the wagon and items have not been properly tightened or closed. “Parties that tend to cause this problem must be addressed by the competent authority and dealt with within the legal framework. This also applies elsewhere in Europe.”

ILT shared with RailFreight.com that 45% of the leakage cases in 2025 were found on foreign-origin trains (import) and 55% on trains handled in the Netherlands (export). Given the over 1400% increase in reported leakages since 2023, it logically follows that this surge cannot be attributed solely to careless operations during loading, unloading, or maintenance in the Netherlands. If domestic operations were the primary cause, we would expect a much higher share of leakages on export trains, which are handled within the country. Instead, the data suggests that the increase is likely due to another reason, such as a Europe-wide security issue or more frequent inspections and incident reporting in the Netherlands.

A common European approach

Both RailGood and DB Cargo advocate for a common European approach to the issue. RailGood believes that the Netherlands is disproportionately concerned about these “drop leakages”. DB Cargo, similarly, sees a divergence in approaches to the issue within Europe. The Netherlands can combat these incidents, but if European countries don’t follow suit, then the Dutch approach will only help for domestically formed trains.

For RailGood, the demand for checks also extends to other modes of transport, such as the road sector and inland waterways. “How often are there controls on tank trucks? How about venting gases on barges?”, the association rhetorically wonders.

“We are taking a decisive step towards a truly intermodal model in the Iberian Peninsula, whereby maritime, rail, and road transport no longer exist separately but operate under the Boluda brand in a single logistics chain”, company representatives commented on the deal.

After the sea and the road comes rail

Boluda already offers maritime and road transport services, but the Transfesa will immediately propel it forward to be among the major rail service providers in Spain. As of September, Transfesa was the fourth largest private operator (fifth when also counting Renfe) in Spain, behind Captrain, Medway and Continental.

The ‘new kid on the block’ Boluda hopes that the addition of rail to its portfolio will help achieve greater efficiency in the supply chain, boost the reliability of its services and reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

Performance has declined slightly since 2022 (82.5 tonne-kilometres), but the overall picture is that the private sector is standing their ground. That is also reflected in market shares: the charts in this text will tell you more.

The coin also has a flipside. Despite the relative success of private operators, state-owned companies (notably DB Cargo) have fared less well. As a result, the overall performance of the rail freight industry has been in decline since peak year 2022. That applies to both performance in tonne-kilometres and train-kilometres.

Whereas private operators have managed to maintain or improve their transport performance, the state-owned businesses have embarked on the opposite path. To illustrate: private operators improve their train-kilometre performance from around 136 million kilometres in 2020 to 158 kilometres in 2024. The state-owned businesses declined from 111 million to around 93 million.

An interesting detail: despite maintaining a general market share of around 40%, DB Cargo is notably absent from the Combined Transport (CT) market. CT accounts for around 40% of all rail freight in Germany. DB Cargo maintains a 23.7% market share in this segment. Private operators are much more prominent in CT, including operators from outside Germany. Those include boxXpress, Crossrail/BLS, METRANS, SBB Cargo International and TX-Logistik, says the Federal Network Agency.

Success amid chaos

The relative success of the private operators comes despite the abovementioned adversities. One of those is the, one could probably say fairly, horrendous state of affairs on the German railway network.

See, for instance, the data on punctuality. Rail freight clearly suffers from the worst rate of delays in Germany, with only 55% of freight trains being on time in 2024. There is a worsening trend in the past years, with long-distance passenger traffic recording the biggest decline.

Operational train preparation

The graph below details the categories of causes per rail segment (freight and the two types of passenger rail). On this topic, the Federal Network Agency says: “Particularly striking are the very high delay minutes per kilometre in rail freight, amounting to 33.4 minutes per 100 train-path kilometres in the operations category.”

Operations-related delays are clearly a major hindrance to the freight industry. “These are largely driven by events related to operational train preparation alone, which account for 26 minutes”, explains the Federal Network Agency. “However, it should be noted that departure punctuality in rail freight is also influenced by the punctuality of upstream transport chains and processes. The average delay attributable solely to operational train preparation amounts to 115 minutes per affected freight train (median: 60 minutes).”

In this context, operational train preparation refers to a punctual handover of a freight train to DB InfraGO. The infrastructure manager defines this as “trains handed over late to DB Netz [DB InfraGO] at the train’s departure station for reasons within the remit of the railway undertaking.” In other words, DB InfraGO does not take responsibility for these delays. In 2024, they accounted for around 68% (64.7 million of 95.5 million minutes) of delays within the operations category.

The other delay category that stands out are train-sequencing delays. Those count for some 17 minutes per 100 train-path kilometres, and have a lot to do with the priority given to passenger services.

The Federal Network Agency concludes with a damning picture for German rail freight: “Under the simplified assumption that such an average initial delay occurs during a train journey, this would result – over a route length of 600 kilometres (approximately the length of the German section of the Rhine–Alpine freight corridor) – in an average total delay of almost six hours.”