What has been! What is to come? Daily service ... - DB Schenker Rail

MARkETS & INNovATIoN
What has been!
What is to come?
The Christmas holidays in 2011 will not be the most
peaceful for politicians, managers, bankers, investors
and taxpayers alike.
In many countries the euro crisis has stalled economic
activity and clouded future prospects. Certainties are
shrinking – and uncertainty is growing.
Nevertheless, the real economy can look back on a
strong 2011. From January to June, DB Schenker Rail’s
transport volume in Western Europe rose by
21.6 per cent, in Eastern Europe by 15.7 per cent and
in Central Europe by 5.6 per cent.
For railways, three DB Schenker Rail managers and
four key customers take stock and try to assess the
prospects for 2012.
18 | railways
Photos: Marc Darchinger/Deutsche Bahn AG, Bernd Roselieb, privat, Danone Waters UK & IRL, Pablo Castagnola, Daimler, Oliver Tjaden
Dr Alexander Hedderich
(46) is CEO of DB Schenker Rail
We now run our own trains in 15
countries. On the way to becoming a
truly European freight railway, we
have done well this year and we will
continue this work consistently in
2012. We will increase our reliability,
because we know that this aspect
is most important to our customers.
The factor cost does worry me, however:
in comparison with 2007, we
currently have to spend around 22
per cent more on energy and 20 per
cent more on our staff. Even if we
continually work to improve our efficiency,
price rises are inevitable.
Internally, we are developing strategies
for demographic change. After
all, 50 per cent of our workforce is
over 50 today.
railways | 19