CEO of Germany state rail operator to leave post

(Removes sourcing in headline after official announcement, no changes to text)

By Klaus Lauer and Markus Wacket

BERLIN (Reuters) -The CEO of Germany's dominant rail operator Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] will leave the company, the transport ministry said on Thursday, capping a difficult tenure at the helm of a company dogged by under-investment, delays and public frustration.

Richard Lutz, who has been in the job since March 2017, has previously said that much still had to be done to pull Deutsche Bahn out of crisis, after more than a decade of tight government budgets left its mark on the state-owned operator's ageing infrastructure.

Lutz will stay in the role until a successor is found, the ministry said in a statement.

Large public events in Germany last year such as the Euro soccer tournament and Taylor Swift's tour put Deutsche Bahn in the spotlight internationally for delayed and crowded trains.

The company has started upgrading its tracks, crossings and overhead lines, but the process will initially add to delays and cancellations.

Deutsche Bahn in March posted heavy losses for 2024 but said it aims to post an operating profit again this year thanks to cost cuts and infrastructure investments.

Earlier this year, the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz set up a 500-billion-euro ($583-billion) fund to modernise Germany's creaking infrastructure, around 100 billion euros of which is expected to flow to Deutsche Bahn over four years.

Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder thanked 61-year-old Lutz for his "great commitment in difficult times for the railway".

($1 = 0.8573 euros)

(Reporting by Klaus Lauer and Markus Wacket, writing by Rachel More, editing by Thomas Seythal)