DSB

www.dsb.dk

DSB - Denmark's largest railway company In 1999, DSB carried approximately 149 million passengers and 7.5 million tons of freight on the Danish railway network. This makes DSB Denmark's largest transport operator. Company profile DSB is a railway company, which offers passengers and freight customers competitive services on a commercial basis. In connection with the transport DSB offers a number of relevant services . As per 1 January 1999, DSB was established as an independent public corporation. At the same time, DSB Trains A/S was established. DSB is owned by the government, while DSB Trains A/S is owned by DSB. DSB still has close relations to the government, but its status as independent public corporation offers another distribution of the roles between the political and administrative system and DSB, both formally and legally. There is a separation of finances between DSB and the government, the board of directors and the executive management must act within the legal terms and framework of limited liability companies, payment and terms of the DSB provisions of services to the government and use of the infrastructure must be established through contracts.  Foto: Peter Thornvig © The exclusive right of DSB to operate national passenger transport formally expired on 1 January 2000. Today distinction is made between two types of passenger transport carried out as public service, negotiated and tendered transport, respectively. Further, passenger transport may be operated as free traffic. As concerns freight transport, the exclusive right was abolished as per 1 January 1999, and today all freight transport is operated as free transport. DSB operates public service transport on the basis of traffic contracts agreed between the Ministry of Transport and DSB. The current contracts, one for the S-train transport and one for the regional and national transport, covers the years 2000 through 2004, and lays down the general requirements for transport provisions and service level, as well as the remuneration under the contract. The contracts offer the option of concluding extensions to the contracts, among other reasons with the aim of implementing the 5-year (2000-2004) political transport agreement, which lays down the framework for investments within the railway sector. To DSB, the most significant element is the possibility for procuring new equipment and moving forward the replacement of the red equipment stock. The Minister for Transport may put contracts on transport carried out subject to public service obligations out to tender. All approved railway operators, including DSB, may submit tender bids. 15 per cent of the total passenger transport of DSB outside the S-train network will be put out to tender from 2003. Market and customers By virtue of new links and railways, shorter travel times, improved timetables, more trains running on schedule, improved co-ordination with the other public transport system and improved service, DSB has consolidated its position on the market in recent years. The DSB share of all passenger transport in Denmark amounts to approximately 6.4 per cent. On the basis of the positive signals incorporated in the political transport agreement and the 5-year contracts, DSB expects to be in a position to offer passengers significant improvements of its transport service provisions in the coming years, for instance through new rolling stock and better traffic schedules. A landmark new activity starts with the opening of the fixed link across Oresound on 1 July 2000. Initially the traffic frequency between Copenhagen and Malmo will be departures at 20 minute intervals, and as the new Oresound trains are delivered the traffic will be expanded on both the Swedish and the Danish side of the sound. DSB expects approximately 2 million passengers to use the connection in 2000, and the figure is expected to grow to approximately 6 million by 2005. At the same time as the opening of the Oresound Link, DSB will open a new railway link from Copenhagen to Ystad with a connection to Bornholm, IC Bornholm. The connection will be operated as free traffic and thereby, as the first DSB service, on purely commercial terms. Finances 1999 was the first year for which DSB presented its annual accounts according to the Danish Companies' Accounts Act. The DSB Group result before tax for 1999 was a surplus of DKK 595 million after depreciation of the assets in the Carload by DKK 350 million. DSB S-Trains A/S contributed with a pre-tax surplus of DKK 113 million, while DSB Freight finished with a deficit of DKK 418 million before restructuring charges (provisions for deficits up to and including 2002, at which time DSB Freight is to show black figures in its operational finances. The total positive result yielded a dividend for the government of DKK 135 million. DSB saw a positive development in its liquidity throughout 1999, and at the end of the year the company repaid DKK 600 million of the DKK 2,400 million founder's capital owed to the government. Organisation and executive management The Ministry of Transport is sole owner of DSB. The group is under the leadership of a nine-member board of directors and an executive management group of four members: One managing director (CEO), one deputy-managing director (Vice CEO), a finance director (CFO) and a director of operations (COO). DSB is split into five divisions, cf. the organisational chart below: DSB Freight manages all DSB freight related operations, which as per 1 August 2000 consists only of Carload, as there has been concluded an agreement to sell General Cargo with effect from this date. DSB S-Trains A/S handles all activities relating to S-train operations. Passenger trains is the division responsible for the revenue budget and the daily provision, development and marketing of the DSB passenger products, excluding S-trains. Sales and Stations is responsible for the stationary DSB sales functions, as well as developing and operating the DSB stations and other property, excluding S-trains. Operations is responsible for purchasing, preparing and conveyance of rolling stock, as well as development of DSB operations, excluding S-trains. Besides the divisions shown, DSB also has a number of group functions, which manage tasks across divisions within various professional areas, such as for instance finance, personnel, design, traffic planning and communications. DSB Sølvgade 40 1349 København K Phone: +45 33 14 04 00 Fax: +45 33 15 04 00/13997 Homepage:www.dsb.dk E-mail:dsb@dsb.dk

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