S-Bahn Berlin GmbH

S-Bahn Berlin GmbH
legal form	GmbH
founding	January 1, 1995
Seat	Berlin
management	Managing directors: Peter Buchner (Managing Director Marketing, Chairman of the Management Board) Karsten Preißel (Managing Director Production) Bastian Knabe (Chief Financial Officer) Christoph Wachendorf (Managing Director Human Resources and Labor Director) Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Jörg Sandvoss
Number of employees	2,774 (ø 2016)
sales	€ 746.6 million (2016)
Branch	transport
Website	sbahn.berlin
As of December 31, 2016

The S-Bahn Berlin GmbH is the operator of the Berlin S-Bahn . The company was founded on January 1, 1995 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn .

background

At the turn of the year 1993/1994, the Deutsche Reichsbahn and the Deutsche Bundesbahn merged to form the Deutsche Bahn AG. At the same time, the operation of the S-Bahn in the former West Berlin - until then carried out by the BVG - was taken over by the Reichsbahn (which already operated the S-Bahn in the eastern part of the city) and now the Deutsche Bahn. After the S-Bahn Berlin GmbH was founded in 1995, it took over the station and transport staff; Workshop equipment and vehicles are also the property of S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, while the stations, track systems, traction power supply and signaling technology remained in the possession of DB Station & Service and DB Netz .

Until around 2006/2007, the Berlin S-Bahn was considered a reliable S-Bahn system. Since then, a steady decline in performance has been lamented, which culminated in 2008, 2009 and 2010 with serious performance drops. According to the Berlin Senate, the reasons lie in a combination of excessive rationalization as a result of the pressure on returns exerted by the parent company, the resulting maintenance deficits, a management failure of the S-Bahn line and design defects in the new vehicles.

In February 2018, a DB company-wide quality offensive S-Bahn PLUS was launched , in which, in addition to S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, DB Netz AG, DB Station & Service AG and DB Energie GmbH are also involved. Their focus is on improving punctuality. From January to September 2019 this was an average of 96.2% and thus above the 96% mark specified in the transport contract.

Results

The number of passengers has risen continuously since the company was founded. In 1995 it carried 246 million passengers; in 2001 there were 296 million passengers, and in 2008 the transport performance was 388 million passengers. In 2012, 395 million passengers used the S-Bahn and the S-Bahn achieved a turnover of 568 million euros

The operational disruptions from 2009 onwards resulted in heavy losses. After a loss of 92.9 million euros in 2009, 222.2 million euros in 2010 and 41.6 million euros in 2011, the loss was reduced to 7.1 million euros in 2012.

Managing directors

The first managing director of S-Bahn GmbH was Axel Nawrocki , who held office until 1998. Günter Ruppert, who had been responsible for the technical area of ​​the S-Bahn since 1994, replaced him as chairman of the management board. This was followed in May 2007 by Tobias Heinemann , who had previously been responsible for marketing at DB Regio, as management spokesman.

In July 2009, the incumbent management was dismissed, which was made responsible for the operational disruptions caused by lack of maintenance. Since then, Peter Buchner has headed the management.

owner

After S-Bahn Berlin GmbH was founded on January 1, 1995, it initially belonged to the DB Stadtverkehr business unit . Since March 2010, it has been 100% owned by DB Regio , which in turn is part of Deutsche Bahn .

Transport contract and subsidies

Transport contract from 2004

The S-Bahn Berlin GmbH operates the S-Bahn traffic on the basis of a tender for a transport contract signed in August 2004 between Deutsche Bahn and the Berlin Senate. The contract applies retrospectively from the beginning of 2003 to the end of 2017 and includes funds from the states of Berlin and Brandenburg in the amount of 3.54 billion euros. Originally, the contract included the option that the State of Berlin could reassign operations on the north-south routes in a tender from 2010. At the beginning of 2008 the Berlin Senate waived this option. The current transport contract provides for steadily increasing operating subsidies and kilometer fees. The kilometer charge will increase from 7.27 euros (2003) to 9.14 euros (2017). Plus fare income, the S-Bahn Berlin receives around 18 euros per train-kilometer. Critics consider this level to be too high. The need for subsidies could be limited to a maximum of five euros per train-kilometer through competition.

Even before the contract was signed, the European Commission had checked the contract due to the lack of a tender.

Based on a request from the transport policy spokesman for the Green Group in the European Parliament , Michael Cramer ( Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen ), the European Commission announced on October 27, 2009 that it would finance the Berlin S-Bahn in response to a violation of the EU -Check state aid rules. This could consist in the fact that the operating company of the Berlin S-Bahn received around 232 million euros in aid from the State of Berlin in 2009 for the operation of the S-Bahn, but transferred 87 million euros as a profit to Deutsche Bahn as the parent company. This would violate the principle of European procurement law, according to which state subsidies for a transport company are only allowed to cover its costs.

Due to the S-Bahn crisis from 2009 onwards, the transport contract was changed with regard to sanction options and the amount of deductions for poor performance, with regard to extended requirements for quality improvement and with regard to billable requirements, e.g. B. on the use of vehicles or the organization and information in the event of S-Bahn disruptions. The amendment contract was signed in October 2010.

Operation from 2017

In 2012, the two federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg, as the responsible authorities , decided to publicly tender the operation and maintenance of the Berlin S-Bahn throughout Europe, and the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association was commissioned as the awarding authority . Originally, independent tenders were planned for three sub-networks (Ring, Stadtbahn and North-South); the invitation to tender for the entire network was discarded because such an award was expected to result in insufficient competition due to the high risks involved. After the current transport contract expires in December 2017, Deutsche Bahn and S-Bahn Berlin GmbH will continue to be commissioned directly for two of the subnetworks, as a new operator of the network would have to buy new vehicles because the Deutsche Bahn was not ready to hand over trains. On the Berlin system with the side conductor rail and the weight restrictions on the trains, only specially developed vehicles can be used, which will not be available in the required number by 2017. In addition, the S-Bahn Berlin GmbH is also applying for the tendered sub-network Ring in the award procedure that will start in April 2013.

Vehicle tender

In November 2013, the company put out a framework contract for the delivery of new trains. The framework agreement provides for a possible acceptance of up to 690 quarter trains. The S-Bahn Berlin currently has around 650 quarter trains (as of 2013). If the S-Bahn Berlin can decide for itself the allocation process for the subnetwork Ring, 195 quarter trains should be called up for this.

Participation in tenders outside of Berlin

In 2008 S-Bahn Berlin GmbH took part in the tender for the operation of the Stockholm subway . However, MTR from Hong Kong was awarded the contract .

See also

• History of the Berlin S-Bahn

Web links

• Website of the S-Bahn Berlin

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Federal Gazette , annual financial statements for the financial year from 01/01/2016 to 12/31/2016
2. ↑ since March 2010 a subsidiary of DB Regio : Homepage of Deutsche Bahn. Retrieved October 6, 2010 . 
3. ↑ Local public transport - The Berlin S-Bahn. Senate Administration Berlin, accessed on November 13, 2013 . 
4. ↑ S-Bahn PLUS quality offensive. S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, November 7, 2019, accessed on December 16, 2019 . 
5. ↑ S-Bahn management draws cautiously positive results for 2012. S-Bahn Berlin GmbH, May 30, 2013, accessed on May 31, 2013 . 
6. ^ Peter Neumann: DB board member appoints new S-Bahn boss . In: Berliner Zeitung . June 13, 1998.
7. ↑ Peter Neumann: S-Bahn boss Ruppert is retiring . In: Berliner Zeitung . March 9, 2007.
8. ↑ Klaus Kurpjuweit: S-Bahn fires all bosses . In: Zeit Online . July 2, 2009.
9. ^ Ulrich Paul: Transport contract with the S-Bahn ready to be signed . In: Berliner Zeitung . August 4, 2004.
10. ↑ Thomas Fülling: Countries prevent competition for the S-Bahn . In: The world . January 23, 2008 ( welt.de ).
11. ↑ Mofair e. V. (Hrsg.): Direct contracts in local rail transport damage the public sector: The example of the S-Bahn Berlin  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ). Press release from March 12, 2012.
12. ↑ Peter Neumann: EU demands clarification about the S-Bahn contract . In: Berliner Zeitung . February 28, 2004.
13. ↑ Representation of the State of Hesse to the European Union: Report from Brussels ( Memento of January 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) No. 20, 2009, October 30, 2009, p. 5 f.
14. ^ Berliner S-Bahn Bahn files a complaint against the award of the S-Bahn. In: Berliner Zeitung . 20th September 2012
15. ↑ Bahn receives further direct order for sub-network of the S-Bahn. In: Der Tagesspiegel . February 9, 2011, accessed November 13, 2013 . 
16. ^ DB AG: Tendering framework contract for 690 quarter trains for S-Bahn Berlin. Eurailpress, November 13, 2013, accessed December 7, 2013 .