Skip next section Police probe possible sabotage in severed train cables
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Police probe possible sabotage in severed train cables
The incident is the latest suspected act of sabotage to hit German rail services in recent monthsImage: Henning Kaiser/dpa/picture alliance
Police in the western city of Cologne are investigating a possible “political motive” after train cables were cut between Cologne and Düsseldorf.
The severing of the cables caused considerable disruption to rail services in the densely populated region.
The incident comes with Germany on high alert for Russian sabotage attacks.
“We discovered at around 01:15 am that several cables had been cut in a cable shaft in the Rheindorf area of Leverkusen,” a Cologne police spokesman told AFP news agency.
Police said unknown perpetrators opened an underground cable shaft and cut all the cables around midnight.
Authorities said the cable damage was worse than expected, taking all day to repair. Service on the affected rail line was eventually restored at 6:20 p.m., a railway spokesperson said.
Cologne police said that “a political motive cannot be excluded at this time.”
It is the latest incident where Germany’s rail network is the target of an attack. Last month the far-left group calling itself the “Angry Birds Kommando” saying it was behind at least one arson attack on the rail system.
https://p.dw.com/p/50ux6
Skip next section Germany’s increased digital exports to eurozone offset US, China drops
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Germany’s increased digital exports to eurozone offset US, China drops
German electrical and digital exports to eurozone partners increased for the third month in a row in July, helping to offset reduced exports to China and the United States.
According to data from the German Electro and Digital Inustry Association (ZVEI), shipments within the eurozone surged by 10%, to €6.8 billion ($8 billion), offsetting 6% and 2.2% dropoffs to China and the United States, respectively, to produce an overall year-on-year increase of 6.1% and a total of €21 billion in digital exports.
“Tariffs are hanging over US business, and China’s economic growth has now fallen to just 5%,” explained Andreas Gontermann, Chief Economist at the ZVEI.
https://p.dw.com/p/50syt
Skip next section German president calls on pope to mediate in conflicts, extends invite
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
German president calls on pope to mediate in conflicts, extends invite
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has encouraged Pope Leo XIV to take on a mediator role in conflicts such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and invited the pontiff to visit Germany.
“The churches can and must play a positive role in [maintaining] the cohesion of our society,” Steinmeier said following a private audience with the head of the Catholic Church in Rome.
“The voice from Rome is as important as ever” for Germany, he said. “If the pope and the Vatican offer their help, we cannot afford to turn it down.”
Steinmeier, a Protestant himself, invited Pope Leo to Germany, although there are as yet no concrete plans for such a visit. According to Vatican sources, the US-born pope’s first foreign visit could be to Turkey before the end of the year.
Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, never visited Germany, where the Catholic Church has lost around 320,000 members year-on-year, bringing the total to 19.8 million as of 2024.
As federal president, Steinmeier is Germany’s largely ceremonial head of state, as opposed to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is the head of the current government.
https://p.dw.com/p/50t38
Skip next section Berlin Airport: Queues and delays after weekend cyberattack
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Berlin Airport: Queues and delays after weekend cyberattack
Berlin Brandenburg Airport was still battling with delayed flights and long queues on Monday morning as the fallout from a weekend cyberattack continued.
The cyberattack on IT service provider Collins Aerospace Friday night also affected check-in systems at airports in London (Heathrow), Brussels and Dublin. Apart from Berlin, no other German airports were affected.
Berlin Airport warned over the weekend that problems would likely continue into this week, especially given increased passenger numbers due to Sunday’s Berlin Marathon.
Travelers have been urged to check in online and drop off their luggage at the self-service kiosks whenever possible. According to an airport spokesman, only one flight had been canceled on Monday so far, but it was unclear how long the IT system repairs would take.
“We have to have 100% sure that no malware remains in our systems before we boot them all up again,” he said.
In Brussels, airlines were asked on Sunday evening to cancel around half of their planned flights for Monday, although only 60 out of 550 departures and arrivals were ultimately canceled.
Dublin Airport reported only “minimal impact,” even if some processes were being carried out manually. “We hope everything will be fixed today,” a spokesman told local broadcaster RTE.
Cyberattack causes chaos at European airports
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https://p.dw.com/p/50sGk
Skip next section Deutsche Bahn: Punctuality goal set at 70%, minister calls for patience
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Deutsche Bahn: Punctuality goal set at 70%, minister calls for patience
Germany’s long-distance trains have a new short-term punctuality goal of at least 70% by 2029, increasing to 80% in the medium term and eventually over 90%, Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) announced on Monday, speaking of a “realistic target.”
Currently, only about 60% of long-distance ICE, IC and EC trains operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB) arrive at their destinations “on time” — classified as having less than six minutes’ delay.
By way of comparison, 81% of long-distance trains in neighboring Austria arrived on time in 2024, 83% in the Czech Republic, 87% in France, 91% in Denmark, 96% in Belgium and 99% in Switzerland — although only France is comparable to Germany in terms of size. German regional trains already have a punctuality rate of 90%.
Speaking at a press conference at which he also officially presented new Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla (see below), Schnieder warned that improvements would not happen overnight. However, he said that money from the €500 billion ($588 billion) special fund recently made available by the German government for general infrastructure investments would flow into the railway.
€10 billion alone have been earmarked for digitalization by 2029. Investment in security and cleanliness at stations is to begin in the first quarter of 2026, and customer service and communications are expected to improve by 2027 at the latest, the minister said.
How to travel by train in Germany
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https://p.dw.com/p/50rrP
Skip next section Confirmed: Evelyn Palla named new Deutsche Bahn CEO
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Confirmed: Evelyn Palla named new Deutsche Bahn CEO
As expected, Evelyn Palla has been named chief executive of the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB).
The 52-year-old Italian national from the largely German-speaking Alpine region of South Tyrol succeeds Richard Lutz, who was dismissed last month amid mounting reliability and infrastructural issues with Germany’s state-owned railway.
Previously, Palla headed up DB Regio, the DB subsidiary that oversees the network’s numerous regional operators across Germany and also in neighboring countries.
Ahead of Palla’s appointment, which had been widely reported over the weekend, Germany’s train drivers’ union (GDL) and the passenger advocacy group “Pro Bahn” had welcomed the move.
“Our list of potential internal candidates was short but Frau Palla was on it,” said Pro Bahn chairman Detlef Neuß, praising Palla’s work at DB Region and calling her “an absolutely suitable CEO.”
GDL boss Mario Reiss called Palla “an experienced manager,” adding: “It’s an encouraging signal that somebody who has a close eye on punctuality figures and passenger statistics both from the outside and the inside is taking responsibility.”
https://p.dw.com/p/50rhv
Skip next section Public transportation use still increasing in Germany, but at slower rate
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Public transportation use still increasing in Germany, but at slower rate
Despite the well-documented issues with punctuality and reliability, the number of Germans using public transportation continued to increase in 2025, albeit at a slower rate than before.
According to data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, Germans made around 5.7 billion journeys on public transportation in the first half of this year, a 1% increase on the same period in 2024.
Use of long-distance trains increased by 4% to 71 million trips, though strikes during the same period last year make direct comparisons less reliable.
But while the numbers are still increasing, the initial boom following the introduction of the nationwide Deutschlandticket appears to be ebbing off.
Introduced in May 2023, the Deutschlandticket is valid for travel on all buses, trams and regional trains (but not long-distance ICE, IC or EC trains) across the entire country, originally for €49 per month but now costing €58 per month.
Around 14 million people currently have a Deutschlandticket but, with the price set to rise again to €63 per month in 2026, travel and consumer groups are concerned that more passengers could return to their cars.
https://p.dw.com/p/50rg1
Skip next section Deutsche Bahn: Transport Minister to present new strategy and CEO
09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Deutsche Bahn: Transport Minister to present new strategy and CEO
German Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) is set to unveil his strategy for the future of Germany’s much maligned rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) — including the presentation of its new chief executive.
After dismissing former DB CEO Richard Lutz in August, Schnieder said the situation at the state-owned conglomerate was “dramatic.”
He said German trains had to be “more punctual, more secure and cleaner” and that as DB as a company had to be “quicker, leaner, more powerful and economically more productive.”
According to widespread German media reports, Lutz’s successor has already been identified: DB regional chief Evelyn Palla is set to become the railway’s first female chief executive.
https://p.dw.com/p/50rUi
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage09/22/2025September 22, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Morgen! Welcome to DW’s coverage of what Germany is talking about on Monday, September 22.
Germany’s much-maligned rail operator Deutsche Bahn is set to unveil its new chief executive, with local media reporting that Evelyn Palla is set to become the state-owned company’s first female boss.
Later, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be at the Vatican for a private audience with Pope Leo XIV.
https://p.dw.com/p/50rUN
