Germany's national rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) has warned passengers of significant disruptions to train services due to the current heatwave and is advising travellers to avoid unnecessary journeys. The company cautioned that its infrastructure is being severely affected by the extreme temperatures, as well as compounding problems such as embankment fires and heavy rainfall.
"The German Meteorological Service is forecasting new regional peak temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius over the coming days," DB said on Thursday. "This pushes the strain on Deutsche Bahn's equipment and trains to a maximum." It added that locally, heavy downpours and thunderstorms with strong gusts pose additional risks to signals, tracks, switches and overhead lines.
Passengers who purchased a long-distance ticket on or before 23 June for travel up to and including 30 June may now cancel and receive a full refund. This marks the first time DB has offered a special heat-related goodwill arrangement, and the company is urging all those who can forgo their journey to take advantage of it.
Unlike other goodwill schemes DB has offered in the past, the current arrangement does not include the option to rebook for a later date, passengers wishing to travel at a different time must cancel and purchase a new ticket.
The announcement comes after Deutsche Bahn had already made negative headlines this week. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a nationwide IT failure brought rail traffic across Germany to a standstill for several hours, leaving thousands of travellers stranded. The incident is seen as emblematic of the broader difficulties facing the state-owned company, which is grappling with a heavily ageing infrastructure.
DB chief executive Evelyn Palla, who was appointed last autumn to turn the company around, has now prescribed a heavy dose of realism for the group, significantly scaling back targets on growth, digitalisation and punctuality. "We are moving away from unachievable promises," she said on Thursday ahead of a supervisory board meeting. "We are committed to realistic goals and facts."
"Primarily growth-oriented targets, such as doubling passenger numbers, have proved unsustainable in light of changed conditions," the company stated. The full digitalisation of the rail network by 2035 was likewise described as "not realistic," and the punctuality target for long-distance services, now set at 80 percent, has been pushed out to that same year.
The supervisory board also announced on Thursday the appointment of Volkswagen manager Michael Obrowski as DB's new chief financial officer. The 57-year-old, described as an "experienced finance professional," is expected to take up the post on 1 September.
The position has been vacant for months following the departure of CFO Karin Dohm in March. Dohm had only joined in December 2025 and was removed at the supervisory board's request less than three months into the role. Obrowski has headed the finance and IT division at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles since 2021 and previously spent five years leading group controlling at Volkswagen AG, DB said.
From breaking news to thought-provoking opinion pieces, our newsletter keeps you informed & engaged.
