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DEUTSCHE BAHN AG
road passenger transport segment continued its downward trend.
Despite the 11 % rise in fuel prices in 2010 and the special boost
resulting from the government’s “cash for clunkers” stimulus
program in 2009, the dominant motorized individual transport
sector was able to retain its previous year’s position, even though
car sales were about 25 % lower. rail was the only mode of trans-
port to expand its intermodal share of market in 2010.
The rail passenger transport segment in Germany was able
to post substantial gains in volume sold over the previous year’s
figure. Driven by a favorable market environment, demand noted
by DB Group companies rose by 2.2 % over the same year-ago
period. This gain was mainly due to the following factors: our
offers and schedule measures were well accepted; the positive
development of our international transports; the restrictions on
air transport due to the outbreak of volcanic ash in the spring of
2010; and the harsh winter weather experienced at the beginning
and the end of the year under review.
We estimate that the performance of non-Group railways
rose by about 5 % due to their taking over additional lines in
regional transport. Their share of the rail passenger transport
market in Germany rose slightly. In total, the rail passenger
transport sector was able to regain the share of market it lost
in 2010 and currently has a market share of just over 10 %.
Volume sold in the public road passenger transport segment
once again declined marginally and was 0.5 % below the previous
year’s level. Despite lower schoolchildren and trainees traffic,
demand for scheduled transport rose due in part to the shift in
transport away from the S-Bahn (metro) to bus transport in
Berlin. Total results were, however, dampened by the decline in
non-scheduled transports, which represents about one-third of
volume sold. Volume sold by our bus companies tracked this
overall market development. The many years of decline seen in
the public road passenger transport segment led to a drop of
its share of market to 9.5 %.
Domestic German air transport, which was heavily hit by
the economic and financial crisis in the previous year, benefited
substantially from the economic recovery and recorded a sharp
rise in demand despite the handicaps seen in the first third of
2010 (pilot strike at Lufthansa, volcanic ash clouds and the
unexpected onset of severe winter weather in December). Volume
sold in 2010 rose by 2.2 % while market share remained at the
previous year’s level.
EUROPEAN PASSENGER TRANSPORT MARkET
In addition to the end of government economic stimulus programs
in most countries, the European passenger transport market
was also affected by the tense budgetary situation in Europe.
This increased pressure on the contracting organizations to cut
their costs even further.
In view of the different levels of liberalization within European
countries, certain countries are experiencing increasing
competition while, in contrast, growth is being hindered in other
nations because of unchanging difficult access to their markets.
The market for cross-border transports in Europe tended
to develop hesitantly since it was liberalized in early 2010. This
is mainly due to high access barriers including high investment
levels, state-sponsored protectionism, high fees to access rail
networks, and technical hindrances. Based on our internal
calculations, the overall rail passenger transport market in
Europe in 2010 remained almost at the previous year’s level.
The negative effects of the economic and financial crisis on
the rail passenger transport market were still notably present in
some European countries in 2010. Volume sold by the state-owned
Spanish railway, renfe, declined again by about 3 %. The rate of
unemployment in Spain hit a peak of about 20 % thereby more
than doubling within three years. The situation was different in
Great Britain, the third-largest rail passenger transport market
in Europe after France and Germany. After volume sold in the
UK almost stagnated in the previous year, they rose by a strong
single-digit rate of growth during the year under review despite
a sluggish increase in real incomes and a barely improved situation
in the labor market.
The economic situation in the Netherlands was also marked
by a moderate increase in income levels and even a slight increase
in unemployment compared to the same year-ago figure. Nonetheless,
volume sold within the rail passenger transport sector
rose, which was not lastly due to the start of service on the
high-speed line from Amsterdam to Brussels via rotterdam.
Development noted in the already heavily liberalized rail
markets in Denmark and Sweden posted different results.
Driven in part by greater consumer spending, the Danish
economy grew by about 2 %. The drop in employment slowed
during the year as the unemployment rate fell slightly. Therefore
the rail passenger transport sector was not able to increase
its volume sold in 2010, as the volume sold stayed at the level
of 2009. The Swedish economy posted a broad recovery from
the crisis as GDP rose by 4 % supported by strong contributions
made by consumer and government spending as well as capital
expenditures and foreign trade. Although the economic rebound