Individual information - Jan Schröder is appointed to lead Hamburg's S-Bahn.
Jan Schröder, the current head of system development for digital technology and business processes at DB Infrago AG, will take over as the new chief of the Hamburg S-Bahn. He'll be taking over from Kay Uwe Arnecke, who is set to retire after 16 years as the managing director. Deutsche Bahn, the company that owns the S-Bahn in Hamburg, made the announcement.
From 2013 to 2016, Schröder held the position of managing director for production and technology at the Hamburg S-Bahn. After that, he moved into leadership roles in the rail conglomerate for Digital Rail Germany. Since 2002, Schröder has been a part of Deutsche Bahn AG.
In his new role, Schröder plans to continue the modernization and digitalization of the Hamburg S-Bahn. They're looking to add two new lines to the rail network by the end of the decade. The vehicle fleet will also be expanded and a new digital control system will be installed. "Jan Schröder is an exceptional choice, as he has a deep understanding of the Hamburg S-Bahn and the expertise to drive the digitalization and growth of the S-Bahn," said Evelyn Palla, the DB-Vorstandin Regionalverkehr. The Hamburg S-Bahn transports almost 250 million passengers annually on its nearly 150-kilometer rail network.
Prior to Schröder, Kay Arnecke was in charge of the Hamburg S-Bahn. He was once a scientific assistant to Hamburg's former mayor, Klaus von Dohnanyi (SPD). Arnecke has been with the Deutsche Bahn since 1995 and led the Hamburg S-Bahn since 2008. Some of his key accomplishments include making the Hamburg S-Bahn the first railway company in Germany to operate exclusively on green energy in 2010.
In 2022, the Digital S-Bahn Hamburg became operational as the world's first highly automated S-Bahn, and in December 2023, the new S-Bahn line network will launch. "Under Arnecke's leadership, the Hamburg S-Bahn has undergone significant modernization over the past 16 years, and he's readied it for future growth through innovative projects like the introduction of the Digital S-Bahn Hamburg," said Palla.
