Sigrid Nikutta is CEO of DB Cargo

The tasks entrusted to Sigrid Nikutta as CEO of the Mainz-based Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Cargo are so great that she is often asked bluntly whether she realizes that she can only fail.

The goods division will bring in another half a billion euros in debt in 2022.

And no matter how plausible the slogan "Goods belong on the rails" may be, it doesn't pull if the transports are waiting more than rolling because the tracks are broken, overloaded or dismantled.

Sigrid Nikutta countered with conviction and optimism and, against all odds, let more trains run rather than fewer.

On the one hand, since Russia's attack on Ukraine, there have been journeys on the “rail bridge” that Nikutta set up together with Europe's railway companies to bring relief supplies to the war-torn country.

As part of the fight against Putin's aggression, Nikutta also considers the feat of transporting coal to the power plants again at short notice.

In return, their trains have even been given the right of way.

(Inga Janovic)