BERLIN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Germany's rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) aims to concentrate more on its core business by "consistently expanding" its rail traffic in Germany, the company announced on Wednesday.
"We acknowledge our responsibility in society and will orient everything we do towards a strong rail system," said Richard Lutz, CEO of DB.
The new "strong rail" strategy is also intended to tackle the central transport and climate policy goals of the German government.
In order to make the growth in passenger and freight traffic possible, DB is aiming to increase the total rail distance travelled by all trains by 350 million kilometers, creating more than 30 percent more capacity on the railways. Deutsche Bahn also announced a double-digit billion investments in new trains to make this possible.
In long-distance traffic, the aim is to double the number of passengers to more than 260 million a year, according to Deutsche Bahn.
The traffic performance of subsidiary DB-Cargo is to increase by 70 percent, for which DB-Cargo plans to purchase over 300 new locomotives, according to Deutsche Bahn.
In addition, more than 100,000 new employees are to be hired in the next few years, according to Deutsche Bahn.
A further central point of the new "strong rail" strategy is Deutsche Bahn's plan to run 100 percent on electricity from renewable energies from 2038 onwards. This was originally not planned until 2050.
"Germany will only achieve its climate targets if it succeeds in shifting massive traffic to rail in the coming decade," Lutz added.
