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mANAGEmENT rEPOrT
Deregulation
The deregulation and opening of the transport markets is being
pushed at both the European and national levels. Following the
complete liberalization of the European rail freight transport
market in 2007, the European long-distance transport market
was opened at the start of the year under review. This reform
permits every European TOC to operate cross-border lines. This
opens up potential opportunities for us in Europe which are
already being realized in Germany by international transport
companies. However, it is necessary that certain countries, like
France and Italy, accelerate the pace of their hitherto listless
implementation of liberalization measures in their markets.
Our long-term goal is to play a substantial role in shaping the
rail transport networks in Europe, as well as securing our central
position in the heart of Europe to further expand our operations.
Demographic change
Future demographic changes will lead to a change in mobility
behavior. These changes include, in particular, population concentrations
in major metropolitan areas, diverging business
development in individual regions, as well as the increasing
flexibility of employed persons. We want to realize the resulting
growth potential and we will decisively adjust our transport
solutions to the changing mobility needs.
CUStoMerS anD QUaLitY initiative iMprove QUaLitY anD raiSe CUStoMer SatiSFaCtion
We are continually working to enhance the attractiveness of rail transport and
position rail as the mode of transport of the future. To achieve this goal it is
imperative to permanently increase customer satisfaction. With this goal in
mind we launched a customer and quality initiative at the start of the year
under review, which systematically develops concepts across business units
and ensures that service promises made to customers are being kept. Within
the framework of the customer and quality initiative we also began to implement
additional measures to improve customer service and further increase
the stability and robustness of our operations.
This means specifically:
a we increase reliability,
a we improve comfort and service along the entire travel chain, and
a we ensure that our customers are sufficiently informed – even during
special situations – and that they receive good service.
The entire portfolio consists of eleven projects in regional and long-distance
transport, freight transport as well as in the infrastructure. In view of the
experience gained in 2009, the main focus of the project was on preparations
for the fall and winter to ensure the highest possible level of operational quality
even in difficult situations caused by inclement weather. An extensive catalog
of long- and short-term measures was approved.
One of the immediate short-term measures referred to long-distance transport
and particularly to measures ensuring the availability of vehicles. These
measures include lowering speed to reduce the number of vehicles sidelined
by flying ballast, as well as additionally equipping vehicles to protect them
against weather-related damages. Concurrently, the winter schedule, which
was published in mid-December 2010, was adjusted to reflect available vehicle
capacities. In the infrastructure area the goal was to achieve greater availability
of the network by improving coordination among operational personnel.
An additional focal point of the customer and quality initiative is the
intensification of the level of service provided to customers by, for example,
increasing the number of service and security personnel in local transport
trains, or by simplifying complaint procedures, as well as expanding the range
of services offered to handicapped travelers in train stations.
There is still room for improvement, especially in the area of passenger
information. In addition to the immediate measures, over the long-term we will
ensure that passengers receive consistent access to information by optimizing
data processes and increasing the number of service personnel in train stations.
Furthermore, we will employ a continuous monitoring process to observe
the implementation of the measures, as well as the planned increase in customer
satisfaction.
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