About us
DB Group comprises passenger transport activities, rail freight transport activities, operating service units and rail infrastructure companies (RICs).
DB Group is the leading provider of passenger transport in Germany and rail freight transport in Europe. We also operate the longest rail network and the largest traction current grid in Europe.
With the sale of DB Schenker, DB Group’s last major international subsidiary, in April 2025, the focus on the core business in Germany was driven forward in 2025. Further steps are to follow.
DB Group, with its headquarters in Berlin, employs about 219,000 people. DB AG manages all business units as an operating management holding company and supports the business units through various central Group functions (including human resources, finance, legal, Group development) and administrative service units. In addition, operational service units as legally independent subsidiaries of DB AG primarily provide services for intra-Group customers. These include DB Systel GmbH, DB Sicherheit GmbH and DB Services GmbH.
With the Strong Rail strategy DB Group is pursuing the goal of a shift in the mode of transport to rail in the long term. To this end, we rely on integrated operation of transport and rail infrastructure, the economically and environmentally intelligent linkage of all modes of transport, as well as cooperation in German and European networks. As a prerequisite for the further shift in the mode of transport to rail, the highest priority is to increase operating quality and improve profitability.
The train operating companies (TOCs) of DB Group are legally and economically independent companies with separate balance sheets and statements of income, and thus fulfill all unbundling requirements under European and national law. In addition, DB InfraGO is legally and organizationally unbundled, which guarantees independent decisions on train-path applications, train-path construction, train-path allocation and train-path usage fees. Reliability and stability form the basis of a high-quality infrastructure. A key cornerstone is the sustainable financing of infrastructure. The Performance and Financing Agreement (Leistungs- und Finanzierungsvereinbarung; LuFV) makes a significant contribution to ensuring the maintenance and modernization of the existing network. The LuFV is to be further developed into the InfraGO Performance Agreement (Leistungsvereinbarung InfraGO; LV InfraGO).
Organizational structure
Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) is the parent company of DB Group. It has been a stock corporation under German law since it was founded in 1994 and accordingly has a dual management and control structure comprising a Management Board and a Supervisory Board. It is wholly owned by the Federal Republic of Germany (Federal Government).
DB Group’s business model has changed as a result of the sale of DB Schenker. We are concentrating on our core business: our passenger transport activities in Germany, our rail freight transport activities and the rail infrastructure companies.
DB Group aims to offer attractive, customer-oriented and environmentally friendly mobility and freight transport solutions. To this end, we want to make targeted use of the potential of digital technologies to improve our operational and administrative processes, continually develop our services for customers, integrate new services and achieve simplifications. We want to successively develop our business portfolio in respect of mobility and freight transport to better satisfy customer needs and meet new market requirements. This also requires a robust rail infrastructure, which we also operate.
- Passenger transport: Our passenger transport activities are broadly based. The bus and rail services are supplemented by networks with other means of transport, such as cars and bicycles. We offer long-distance rail passenger transport within Germany and cross-border into neighboring countries. In bus transport, we focus on the German market.
- Freight transport: DB Cargo operates in the business-to-business segment. Our business activities in the freight transport market were placed on a European platform at an early stage. We offer our customers industry-specific solutions including intermodal transport and logistics services.
- Infrastructure: DB InfraGO is responsible for the rail network and all facilities and passenger stations required for operations. The most important source of revenues are train-path usage fees. DB InfraGO ensures non-discriminatory network access for all licensed TOCs, local transport contracting organizations and freight forwarders and shippers.
The development of DB Group is driven by success factors that are central components of our business model.
- Corporate social responsibility: As a state-owned provider of mobility and freight transport solutions, DB Group bears great responsibility for the future of our country. As the basis of climate-friendly and networked mobility and the freight transport of tomorrow, rail should fulfill a key function for Germany: it should help to achieve climate protection targets, promote participation and quality of life for people and strengthen the business location as well as people and the economy. In brief: society should also benefit from a strong rail system. Our business activities are geared towards the long-term realization of Strong Rail.
- Lean Group structure: We are developing DB Group into an efficient, clearly managed organization. This is based on clearly assigned responsibilities, simplified structures and efficient work and decision-making processes. A lean organizational structure, the systematic reduction of overhead and significantly greater decentralization are intended to create the structural conditions for greater impact, speed and responsibility at the local level.
- Unbundling within the integrated Group: DB Group stands for the integrated Group, so that infrastructure and transport operations on the infrastructure are optimally interlinked in order to deliver the best possible result for customers. By clearly separating DB InfraGO AG, which is oriented towards the common good, from purely competitive activities, DB Group ensures unbundling within the meaning of the Federal Government.
- Digitalization: We want to use the technologies and methods of digitalization to offer attractive products. We strive to support our internal processes with technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), so that we can continue to offer customers an appropriate price level with efficient processes.
- Europe as the field of action: As the geographical and economic heart of Europe, Germany has a special responsibility for the future of the continent. Europe is our field of action in freight transport and international long-distance passenger transport to the major cities of neighboring countries.