1999 to present
The second step of the Bahnreform (railway reform) was carried out in 1999. All rolling stock, track, personnel, and real assets were divided between the subsidiaries of DBAG: DB Reise & Touristik AG (long-distance passenger service, later renamed DB Station & Service AG (operating the stations)). This new organisational scheme was introduced not least to implement European Community directive 91/440/EEC that requires open access operations on railway lines by companies other than those that own the rail infrastructure.
In December 2007, DB reorganised again, bringing all passenger services into its DB Bahn arm, logistics under DB Schenker and infrastructure and operations under DB Netze.
The DB is owned by the Federal Republic. By the Constitution, the Federal Republic is required to retain (directly or indirectly) a majority of the infrastructure (the present DB Netze) stocks.
In 2008, it was agreed to "float" a portion of the business, meaning an end to the 100% share the German Federal Republic had in it, with a plan that 25% of the overall share would be sold to the private sector. However the onset of the 2008 financial crisis saw this cancelled.
In 2014, the Jewish community of Thessaloniki demanded that the Deutsche Bahn, which is the successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, should reimburse the heirs of Greek Holocaust victims of Thessaloniki for train fares that they were forced to pay for their deportation from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz and Treblinka between March and August 1943.
In June 2018 controversy grew in the United Kingdom over widespread cancellations of railway services and numerous delayed services operated by Deutsche Bahn in Britain, under its Northern brand. This resulted in Britain's Minister of Transport, Chris Grayling, setting up an enquiry into whether the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary had breached its contractual agreement to provide railway services in the north of England.
In 2024, Deutsche Bahn faced significant operational challenges during the Euro 2024 football tournament, including frequent train delays, cancellations, and infrastructure issues. The rail carrier reported a €1 billion half year net loss stemming from investments to repair its rail network, strikes and bad weather in July of the same year. As a result, Deutsche Bahn announced that they would shed 30,000 administrative jobs, roughly equal to 9% of their workforce.
In September 2024, the company came to an agreement with DSV of Denmark, a logistics company; in the agreement, DSV will acquire Schenker from Deutsche Bahn for $15.84 billion.
In 2026, Deutsche Bahn banned Alcohol in all of their stations.
