It's not just the rail network of Deutsche Bahn that is currently being built and rebuilt like seldom before - there's also a lively coming and going in the management and in the control committee of the state-owned company.

The company announced the most surprising personal details at a meeting of the supervisory board on Thursday late Thursday afternoon: chief controller Michael Odenwald will stop at the end of July.

Thiemo Heeg

Editor in Business.

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According to the information, he announced this during the regular meeting of the committee.

The qualified lawyer has headed the Supervisory Board since April 2018 and has been a member since 2012.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to resign my mandate," Odenwald is quoted as saying.

After ten years of work on the supervisory board, it was time for a change.

The step falls into a phase of serious problems around the network, combined with sometimes chaotic developments in passenger and freight traffic.

Most recently, rail boss Richard Lutz and Federal Transport Minister Wissing announced a comprehensive solution program for all aspects of the infrastructure, which, however, has dragged on for years.

A number of other supervisory board members are changing

In a few days, an extensive chair shift will also be on the agenda in top management.

After the departure of Ronald Pofalla as head of infrastructure at the end of April, the influential post had to be filled.

On July 1, Berthold Huber, previously responsible for passenger transport on the Board of Management, will take over from him.

On Thursday, the railway supervisory board appointed the 58-year-old manager to the new office on July 1st.

The personnel had already leaked out (FAZ from March 30).

Huber was considered the favorite of the EVG railway union.

The outgoing Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Odenwald, praised the new appointment: “Mr. Huber has been working for Deutsche Bahn for over 20 years.

He knows the group better than almost anyone else and, as a former HR director at DB Netz AG, has in-depth knowledge of the infrastructure.” He and his team now have “the central task of making the railway infrastructure more efficient”.

Division of responsibility near and far

Huber's previous work area is now divided into near and far.

Evelyn Palla will head the Regional Transport department from July 1st.

The 48-year-old business economist was previously responsible for finances on the board of DB Fernverkehr AG.

The South Tyrolean came to Deutsche Bahn from the Austrian state railway ÖBB at the end of 2018.

The 51-year-old Michael Peterson, who has been CEO of DB Fernverkehr AG since mid-2019, is moving up to the Group Executive Board as head of the new Long-Distance Passenger Transport department.

The previous head of DB Regio AG, Jörg Sandvoß, will be appointed Group Commissioner for Public Welfare Infrastructure.

"Team DB is standing - younger and more female than ever before," said Bahn boss Richard Lutz about the new appointments.

They are facing major challenges and will “tackle them together and with great determination”.

However, before the new infrastructure board member Huber tackles the multi-billion-dollar construction program that will stretch over the current decade and is intended to solve the network problems, he has to work in his own office: the ICE on the wall no longer fits.

How about a shapely barrier?