German Krankheit: Kyrill and the German Federal Railways Deutsche Bahn. They Did What They Could: Nothing.

In the aftermath of storm Kyrill, there has been harsh criticism over the federal railways' management of the crisis. A report about the aftermath shows why the German government should as well consider selling off the remaining shares in its ailing railway company to private investors abroad.

Storm front Kyrill crossed Germany on Thursday night, and literally everything stood still. Some things stood even stiller: Deutsche Bahn brought their complete rail network to a complete halt late Thursday, before midnight. Passengers, wherever they were, were asked to leave the trains at the next available station, sometimes in the middle of nowhere. There was no death toll, but had the warm stormfront been a blizzard instead, the state-owned company's management of the crisis might as well have taken a death toll.

While any operator of a large rail network can be struck by desaster, it is worth the while to observe that - even while on notice of only some days - Kyrill came by no means unexpected, and neither did its extension come as a complete surprise to anyone. Days before, Deutsche Bahn boasted that disaster teams had been put into place for passengers to continue their journey in buses, should disaster strike.

Apparently, none of the proud boasts ever materialized. Being amongst the most expensive railways for passengers in terms of prices for regular ticket, apparently doesn't mean that service is by any means available. To the contrary: As a passenger of Deutsche Bahn, it is the turn of a friendly card if one escapes with mere life.

Take Deutsche Bahn's newest prestige project, the main railwaystation in Berlinfor example. The building sits in an area of town which is all but unpopulated. With a glitzy shopping centre and some 11 tracks , crossing at two levels, the 600 million Euro building sits in the middle of virtually nowhere. To get to it, one needs to use a local train in order to board a the long distance versions. On foot, one will walk about 2 kilometres to reach the nearest outpost of urban civilization. There are two waiting kiosques for around five local bus lines, and no connection to Berlin's otherwise dense subway system. Come to look at it, there is maybe one advantage: As in any good decadent state, the thing looks like a pyramid in a desert, and by practical means is just as useless - albeit that members of the Bundestag, Germany's equivalent to the House of Commons, can reach the station on foot to escape Berlin for their home destinations.

So far, soo good. After having seen the beautiful beast myself just last weekend, today I am happy to have escaped with life: at the very doorstep used by numerous travellers and sightseers a multi-ton metal beam out of the facade at Berlin's new mainstation roared down 40 metres. Let's keep in mind that the building had only opened in May 2006, and gale force winds did not exceed 130 Km/h at the time, according to weather reports from Berlin. Apparently, reports German newsweekly Stern, the beams hat not been bolted to the rest of the construction for "esthetical reasons", and Deutsche Bahn was interested in finally opening its "cathedral of travel" after considerable delays in construction, maybe at too high a price. Not that the new main station was quintessential: Deutsche Bahn had two stations in Berlin - one as big and as far out as the main station (Ostbahnhof), another one smaller, but at the heart of the western city center (Berlin Zoo station), which it closed down to detour travellers to its new space ship, often against their will.

Looking at the track record of Deutsche Bahn, the company is bound to be part of the German Krankheit (disease) for the forseeable future, not of its solution. Quite a few people (passengers) started praying that - of all assets, Deutsche Bahn could be a good candidate for a complete sell off to foreign private equity funds. In its useless struggle to prepare for an IPO, Deutsche Bahn has come to a situation where things can only get better.

Postscriptum: When I went to Düsseldorf (Germany) by train yesterday (two days after Kyrill), Deutsche Bahn announced that there were still no trains connecting the town to other important centres, such as Essen and Solingen. Whoever lives there or in between, simply lucked out. When the train arrived at its provisional terminal station, the fact was announced, the lights of the train went out. No word from Deutsche Bahn about buses replacing the trains for the time being. Two days after Kyrill, Deutsche Bahn wishes you a pleasant journey. With whomever.