DB Cargo puts its UK business up for sale
FREIGHT: Deutsche Bahn’s freight arm has begun a structured sale of DB Cargo UK, one of Britain’s largest rail freight operators, as it narrows its focus to Central Europe. Legal and financial advisers have been appointed to run the process.
DB Cargo UK’s Chief Executive Andrea Rossi informed staff of the decision on 17 August. The UK Management Board has appointed Interpath as adviser and talks with prospective bidders have already taken place, according to Sky News. The business will continue to operate as normal while a buyer is sought.
The move follows a decision by parent company DB Cargo AG to concentrate on its core Central European operations. Those operations are being restructured under the European Commission’s 2024 state aid ruling, which approved EUR 1.9bn in German support on condition that DB Cargo cut losses and divest activities and assets.
What is for sale
DB Cargo UK employs 2,155 people and operates just over 200 locomotives across aggregates, intermodal, steel, infrastructure and charter traffic, including cross-Channel freight through the Channel Tunnel. Deutsche Bahn acquired the business in 2007 as English Welsh & Scottish Railway, paying GBP 309m (EUR 450m) to Canadian National and private equity owners.
Andrea Rossi told employees that a transformation programme had improved operational performance and financial efficiency, but that external factors had raised an already challenging cost base and reduced volumes and revenue. He said the business retained a significant market share, a diverse customer base, a substantial asset base and an extensive property portfolio, and that a sale was the best route to long-term growth.
The company said it would work with trade union representatives throughout the process.
Withdrawal from markets outside Central Europe
The UK sale follows other steps in DB Cargo’s withdrawal to its home region. In 2025 the group sold parts of its Spanish subsidiary Transfesa to Boluda, including intermodal, domestic freight and terminal services, while keeping automotive and international traffic. In June it confirmed cuts to nearly half its German workforce, more than 6,000 jobs by 2030.
Under Chief Executive Bernhard Osburg, appointed in October 2025 from Thyssenkrupp Steel, DB Cargo has cut single-wagon traffic and reduced its network footprint. Deutsche Bahn reported its first half-year profit since 2019 on 30 July, with DB Cargo still loss-making but improving.
What happens next
DB Cargo UK said the sale process had only just begun and declined further comment. No bidders have been named.
The outcome will decide who runs cross-Channel rail freight from the British side and whether the Class 66-based fleet stays with a single operator. If completed, the sale would leave DB Cargo with no large-scale operation outside continental Europe.