Deutsche Bahn regional transport head to become CEO, sources say

BERLIN (Reuters) -Evelyn Palla, the board member in charge of regional transport at Deutsche Bahn, will become the German state-owned railway operator's new CEO, two people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

The transport ministry and Deutsche Bahn declined to comment.

Palla, who would become Deutsche Bahn's first female CEO, joined the group in 2019, having previously worked for chipmaker Infineon, energy group E.ON and Austrian railway operator OeBB.

Last month, Germany's transport ministry said that Deutsche Bahn's current CEO Richard Lutz would leave the company, capping a difficult tenure at the helm of a company dogged by under-investment, delays and public frustration.

German mass tabloid Bild first reported Palla's appointment, adding that transport minister Patrick Schnieder would announce it on Monday.

(Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Ralf Bode. Writing by Christoph Steitz. Editing by Mark Potter)