Deutsche Bahn IPO not on agenda: transport minister

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Plans for an initial public offering of rail operator Deutsche Bahn DBN.UL are currently not on the agenda, German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer told weekly magazine Focus.

First, the company needs to focus on improving quality, security, cleanliness, punctuality and reliability of its trains, Ramsauer said, according to an excerpt of an interview to be published in Focus on Monday.

A stock market listing of Deutsche Bahn was shelved in 2008 due to weak markets. Chief Executive Ruediger Grube said in March the group still intended to pursue a partial flotation but would only do so when it was sure it could get appropriate value for the stake on offer.

But Deutsche Bahn has come under fire this week over problems with the air conditioning systems on its high-speed ICE trains. A week ago, several school children were hospitalized after traveling in a train with faulty air conditioning as outside temperatures neared 40 degrees.

Ramsauer blamed these problems on deep cost cuts implemented by Deutsche Bahn's former management to ready the company for stock market flotation as the government pushed for an IPO.

"The result was a need to save money to create results that would enable an IPO," Ramsauer said.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Toby Chopra)