DB says revenues from the services remain relatively low with little growth in recent years whilst operating costs are relatively high and largely fixed. DB has therefore decided to make significant changes to remove the worst loss-making routes. The services use specialist vehicles that are nearing the end of their useful life but DB says the trains currently do not make enough money to warrant investment in a new fleet.

Services will be withdrawn in December on the following routes:

• Basle/Amsterdam and Prague to Copenhagen

• Hamburg/Berlin and Munich to Paris

In addition Warsaw/Prague – Amsterdam services will no longer serve the Netherlands and will be cut back to Cologne.

DB says vehicles freed up by these changes will be redeployed to improve availability levels on other routes and to lengthen trains at busy times.