[ItsMe000001]

> Deutsche Bahn AG is a private company, yes, but its 100% owned by the federal government.

Which does not change the fact that it's been made into a private company, and that their mission is profit. Ever since that happened we've been hearing it in the news whenever they announced their results, apparently the whole country, or at least media and the government care very much about it. So they are not like a government agency at all, they really are a business.

So OPs statement is not true, competition (on the local routes) and profitability very much drive DB. That was my point, in the context of the comment I replied to.

[gsnedders]

OK, to me it being a private company doesn't in and of itself imply that: a private company generally acts in the interests of its shareholders, and when the sole shareholder of a company is the state, it doesn't necessarily follow the primary interest is profit (see many of the various companies wholly held by the UK Government for example, Network Rail being an apt one here).

[ItsMe000001]

As I said, the DB's mission is profit. That is what they make a big fuss about every year, and according to all news reports since making it a company that is what their CEO is meant to look after first of all even if it means worse service. You can see that in the discussion of preceding years that maintenance was neglected and too much "optimization" (e.g. work force size) was done so that they now frequently run into problems. It's all been discussed in German media for years.