Deutsche Bahn returns to profit after seven years as fuel prices drive record ridership
The German state-owned railway carried 960 million passengers in the first half of 2026, 17 million more than a year earlier, and swung to a core-business profit in the hundreds of millions of euros, according to media reports ahead of the official results.
Profit turnaround
Deutsche Bahn's core business generated a profit in the three-digit million-euro range for January to June 2026, the first time in seven years. In the same period of 2025, the company had posted a loss of around 760 million euros. The full-year 2025 result was a billion-euro loss. The figures were reported by Bild and Spiegel ahead of the official half-year presentation by CEO Evelyn Palla on 30 July.
Passenger surge
The railway carried approximately 960 million passengers in the first half, up 17 million from the prior year and the highest since the coronavirus pandemic. The company attributed the increase mainly to rising fuel prices, which pushed commuters from cars to trains, especially in regional services. Long-distance demand also picked up noticeably from April onward.
Fuel prices and discount tickets
The surge in ridership was linked to the spike in petrol prices driven by the Iran war. While fuel became more expensive, Deutsche Bahn kept its fares stable. New discount offers also boosted demand: the Last-Minute-Ticket was used by 600,000 passengers, the Familienticket by 200,000, and the free Jugend-BahnCard 25 was ordered around 50,000 times.
- Last-Minute-Ticket
- 600000 passengers
- Familienticket
- 200000 passengers
- Jugend-BahnCard 25
- 50000 passengers
Persistent operational woes
Despite the financial improvement, punctuality in long-distance services remained poor. In June, only 52.6% of trains were on time, partly due to a heatwave. The company's infrastructure is still described as dilapidated, and CEO Palla has cautioned that fixing the rail network could take another decade. A broad restructuring, including cost cuts and job reductions, is underway, along with a dedicated turnaround programme for long-distance operations.
Outlook
Palla is expected to present the half-year figures today, framing the results as a tentative turnaround. The company continues to grapple with the legacy of years of underinvestment, and the profit, while a milestone, comes with the caveat that the core business remains under pressure from infrastructure constraints.
