The boss of German state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn said on Monday that there will be no cuts to long-distance passenger service in 2025.

“Our plans for the 2025 timetable, which were finalized in April, do not envisage any cuts,” Deutsche Bahn chief executive Richard Lutz wrote in a letter obtained by dpa that was addressed to lawmakers from the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) from eastern Germany.

His comments come after media reports about plans for potential cuts, including service reductions and elimination of certain routes, caused uproar among German politicians and parts of the public, especially in eastern Germany where the cutbacks would reportedly have hit hardest.

“We want to run the full timetable in 2025,” a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn confirmed to dpa.

In the letter, Lutz expressed understanding for the uncertainty among lawmakers following last week’s media reports, including a story in Der Spiegel news magazine.

“Contrary to the claims in Der Spiegel, we currently have no plans or decisions to cancel the long-distance connections mentioned,” Lutz wrote.

Last week, Der Spiegel reported on a list of long-distance connections that could be thinned out or cancelled, citing a letter sent by Deutsche Bahn to the Federal Network Agency regulators at the beginning of February.

The letter cited rising costs under a significant increase in the track access fees charged to all rail infrastructure users by DB Infrago, Deutsche Bahn’s infrastructure subsidiary.

Lutz in his explanation to lawmakers said the February letter was an explanation of the potential impact of higher fees on Deutsche Bahn’s passenger rail service, but was not a plan for cutbacks in eastern Germany.