Skip next section Deutsche Bahn posts €2.3bn loss as outlook weakens
03/27/2026March 27, 2026
Deutsche Bahn posts €2.3bn loss as outlook weakens
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn has reported a €2.3 billion ($2.65 billion) net loss after lowering the expected value of its long-distance business due to ongoing infrastructure problems.
The state-owned company said the loss widened by about €0.5 billion compared with the previous year.
A €1.4 billion reduction in the value of its DB Fernverkehr unit, which operates long-distance passenger trains, was cited as the main reason for the loss. The division now expects significantly lower future revenue as rail infrastructure and punctuality improve only slowly.
The sale of logistics subsidiary DB Schenker has also removed a key source of profit, although the proceeds did help cut debt by nearly €12 billion to €20.7 billion.
Despite the loss, CEO Evelyn Palla said a turnaround is emerging, with operating profit reaching €297 million and revenue rising about 3% to €27 billion.
“Satisfaction would be out of place,” said Palla, who has been in office since October. “Only when we are once again generating sustainable annual surpluses and can finance investments from our own resources will we have reached our goal.”
But she warned that it will take at least 10 years to get the rail network in good working order.
How to travel by train in Germany
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Skip next section Whale swims to freedom after days stranded off German coast
03/27/2026March 27, 2026
Whale swims to freedom after days stranded off German coast
The whale swam to freedom after days-long attempts to free it finally paid offImage: Ulrich Perrey/dpa/picture alliance
Rescuers managed to free a humpback whale that had been stuck on a sand bank off Germany’s Baltic coast on Friday.
The whale had been stranded for several days on the Timmendorfer Strand, with numerous rescue attempts failing to shift the marine mammal.
Read more here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5BEWH
Skip next section Germany moves to replace unpopular Riester pension system
03/27/2026March 27, 2026
Germany moves to replace unpopular Riester pension system
Germany’s parliament has voted to replace the underperforming “Riester” pension system with a new state-backed savings model.
The current system, introduced in 2002, has proven unpopular because it delivered low returns, was complex and costly, and offered limited benefits — especially for lower-income earners. The reform aims to fix this by making saving simpler, cheaper, and potentially more profitable.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil called the reform a “real milestone” and a “game changer,” saying it strengthens the third pillar of pensions alongside statutory and occupational schemes.
He said changes agreed in parliament make private retirement savings more attractive for low-income earners and families, adding that saving will now pay off “from the first euro” and costs have been reduced.
The SPD-CDU/CSU coalition approved the reform, which will effectively phase out new Riester contracts. The Left Party voted against while the Greens and far-right AfD abstained.
Eligibility will be expanded to include self-employed workers, while state subsidies are to be simplified and increased, particularly for families.
Klingbeil also said his ministry will soon present plans for a “starter pension,” under which the state would contribute about €10 (roughly $11.50) per month into retirement accounts for children and young people.
German coalition disputes welfare state funding
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Skip next section Social Democrats hold crisis meeting after multiple election blows
03/27/2026March 27, 2026
Social Democrats hold crisis meeting after multiple election blows
Germany’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) have convened a special leadership meeting after recent election defeats in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Munich.
The expanded presidium met at party headquarters in Berlin with ministers, state premiers, senior parliamentary figures, and lead candidates in attendance.
Party leaders Bärbel Bas, Lars Klingbeil, and Secretary General Tim Klüssendorf are set to address the press after the meeting.
The losses have plunged the SPD into a deep crisis, but the leadership has ruled out stepping down and is instead pushing for a clear reform course within the coalition with the conservative CDU/CSU.
The SPD suffered two bruising defeats in the state election in Rhineland-Palatinate and the Munich mayoral vote on Sunday. Those defeats followed a further bruising result in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg two weeks earlier.
With three more state elections planned across Germany this year, the pressure on the party leadership could yet intensify.
German regional vote reveals economy worries and SPD decline
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Skip next section Welcome to our coverage03/27/2026March 27, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
You join us as Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, votes to revamp the country’s state-backed private pension system.
The current model is widely deemed to have been a disappointment, with relatively little reward — especially for low earners.
Meanwhile, the center-left Social Democrats, part of the country’s ruling coalition, are holding a post-mortem after a series of electoral drubbings.
Stay with us for these stories and more from Germany.
https://p.dw.com/p/5BEKu
