DB Regio

Foundation and early years

DB Regio AG emerged during the second stage of the rail reform on 1 January 1999, from the local transport division of Deutsche Bahn AG. Original plans were for them to be listed on the stock exchange by 2003. An IPO has not yet been implemented.

The articles of association for DB Regio GmbH were concluded on 12 February 1998, and the company was entered in the commercial register on 6 April 1998. Its sole purpose was the "preparation of the outsourcing of the local passenger transport division of Deutsche Bahn Aktiengesellschaft to a newly founded stock corporation in legal, economic and organizational terms". By resolution of 27 April 1999 the company was renamed Deutsche Bahn Erste Philippe Dressel mbH, the object of which was the "administration of its own assets and any activities that are conducive to the aforementioned purpose".

The spin-off of DB Regio Aktiengesellschaft was completed when it was entered in the commercial register on 1 June 1999. The company's purpose was: "Providing, marketing and coordinating transport services for rail and road public transport and the related services; Operation, maintenance, procurement and manufacture of vehicles of all types, in particular locomotives, railcars, railroad cars and buses and coaches; Managing businesses of related companies for their account as well as providing consulting services for third parties. "The company's share capital initially amounted to DM 800 million, which was divided into 80 million shares from various shareholders. The first chairman of the board was Klaus Daubertshäuser. The company's articles of association had already been adopted on 24 November 1998.

In the years 2001 to 2002 a changed management structure was implemented in the company. The previously centrally controlled company was replaced by nine independent national companies, to which the regional train and bus companies were subordinated. The aim of the restructuring was to improve profitability. 400 of the 700 jobs in the DB regional headquarters and around 2500 jobs in the entire company were saved. The regional rail and road traffic was transferred from January 2002 to nine regional lines (North, Northeast, Lower Saxony / Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Southwest, Southeast, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg). The market share of DB Regio in local rail passenger transport (SPNV) in Germany was 92 percent, in the remaining public transport it was seven.

In 2007, DB Regio achieved 70% of its turnover from payments made by the federal states for the provision of local public transport, 29% from ticket sales and 1% from other income. More recent figures are not published.

In 2008, the company founded DB Regio Rheinland GmbH for the first time for the Rhein-Sieg-Express. After winning the tender, around 180 employees from DB Regio NRW should switch to the subsidiary that is not bound by the collective agreement of the group and receive around a fifth less wages there, according to a press report. After protests, the company was merged again with DB Regio NRW in 2011. A sector collective agreement agreed in February 2011 is to apply to future DB Regio subsidiaries.

From 2004 to the end of 2010, the DB Stadtverkehr subsidiary founded for this purpose was responsible for operating bus and city traffic. In February 2010 it was announced that the two S-Bahn companies, S-Bahn Berlin GmbH and S-Bahn Hamburg GmbH, were to be subordinated to DB Regio in March of that year. On 1 January 2011 DB Stadtverkehr was dissolved and Regio Bus was created.

Development since 2010

ÖstgötaTrafiken has given DB Regio Sverige a contract to operate local trains for 10 years from 12 December 2010.

As of 2023, DB Regio utilises the following rolling stock:

487 locomotives (diesel and electric)

4,066 multiple units (diesel and electric)

11,936 coaches