German media has reported that the Bundeswehr will pay the national rail service Deutsche Bahn millions for the program. Both the army and the trains have been struggling with diminishing resources and reputations.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBroker/D. Enters
Advertisement
Soldiers in uniform will shortly be able to ride Germany's national rail service Deutsche Bahn (DB) for free, local media reported on Friday.
The deal struck between DB, the German armed forces (Bundeswehr), and the government comes as Germany struggles to fill the ranks of its army after conscription was abolished in 2011.
According to the Bild tabloid, Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer took part in the negotiations, as well as the chairman of DB's long-distance branch, Michael Peterson.
The German military will reportedly pay DB some €4 million ($4.4 million) a year to let all members of the armed forces enjoy free train travel.
At present, soldiers completing voluntary national service are able to travel home from bases free of charge.
DB, Bundeswehr in dire straits
The agreement comes at a time of struggle for both DB and the Bundeswehr. After decades of holding a monopoly over the country's rail lines, DB now finds itself competing with private train companies. Cheap long-distance bus services as well budget airlines also provide increased competition.
Due to their history, Germans have been extremely hesitant to embrace their armed services, and a military career can carry far less prestige in many swathes of German society than it may in other countries.
Until 2011, young German men were required to either do a year of military service or of civil service, which helped the Bundeswehr get the personnel it needed. However, since that obligation was dropped, new recruits have been hard to come by, leading to massive PR campaigns on social media as well as the opening of its first-ever recruitment offices last year.
The German government has also had several embarrassing incidents with faulty official aircraft. Chancellor Angela Merkel famously had to get a commercial flight to Buenos Aires to attend a G20 summit in 2018 after her plane malfunctioned between Berlin and Cologne.
Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Germany's military faces almost daily reports on new problems with its hardware: planes and helicopters on the ground, tanks and ships not operational. The list goes on.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Faulty tanks and grounded helicopters
Frustrated soldiers and a defense system struggling to repair its way into a fully functioning military. And a new defense minister who will have to regain confidence from army representatives.
Image: Getty Images/V. Wieker
Defective helicopters
Ageing helicopters have proved a big hurdle for the German military. The Bundeswehr has grounded all its 53 Tiger helicopters, after engineers said technical faults needed attention. Defense services were also forced to recall 22 Sea Lynx anti-submarine helicopters in 2014, confirming newspaper reports of malfunction.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Carsten Rehder
Manufacturing fault
The Eurofighter is the German military's most modern fighter jet. As a result of a manufacturing error, only four of the 128 planes were in action in 2018. A pilot was killed in June 2019 when two Eurofighters collided in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, prompting fresh calls for further restrictions on the plane's use.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Let's replace it... as soon as we make a decision
Tornado fighters have been flying for over 40 years. CDU plans to replace the ageing planes were thrown into question by the center-left SPD in February 2019. But some officials claim flying the Tornado after 2030 could cost Germany around €8 billion ($9 billion) in repair costs.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Udo Zander
Not making any tracks
New Puma tanks for the German military came into use in 2018. Only 27 of the 71 Pumas were immediately ready for deployment — which prompted a fresh backlash against then Defense Secretary Ursula von der Leyen.
Image: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Glitches at sea
New F125 frigates — but they are't ready yet. German plans to replace the old frigates stalled in 2018, due to there not being enough spare parts to make them seaworthy. Officials also said Germany would have to soon stop signing up to NATO and UN missions in the same year — the country just did not have enough ships spare.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Headache for AKK?
She has not been in the job long, but Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has inherited a huge problem. Old equipment being grounded is now a regular and pressing occurrence. Former Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen signed a deal to develop a "Future Combat Air System" in June — which is scheduled to replace Germany's air force by 2040.
