(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-03 11:27

BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved on Wednesday plans to let private investors take over just under one quarter of the operations of Deutsche Bahn, one of the world's biggest rail transport groups.

The German government plans to proceed with the part- privatization of the national rail company, Deutsche Bahn (DB), in November or December this year.

DB also owns rail companies outside Germany and is also a major road transport operator within Germany.

Earlier on Monday, the heads of the two parties in Merkel's coalition government agreed on selling off a stake in the passenger and freight services of DB, while retaining the railtracks, stations, power generation and signaling in state hands.

Estimates on the value of the 24.9 percent stake in passenger and freight services run to around 6 billion euros (US$9.5 billion).

The issue provoked months of debate within the broad coalition government, comprising Merkel's conservative Christian CDU/CSU bloc and its traditional rival, the Social Democrats.

DB, which has 237,000 employees, has reached a pre-privatization accord with unions ruling out layoffs for the next 15 years.