Deutsche Bahn: This is why the trains are so late

Created: 05/23/2022, 09:36 am

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

The long-distance trains of Deutsche Bahn were delayed more often in April than they have been for a long time.

(Archive image) © Arne Dedert

The corona pandemic is flattening out and the trains are getting fuller.

And Deutsche Bahn continues to struggle with delays that could increase.

Berlin – Many travelers know that you cannot rely on the information on departure and arrival times for Deutsche Bahn (DB) train journeys.

Too often there are delays or even cancellations - the frustration of the passengers is great.

And it's not getting any better, despite all the DB's assurances: the long-distance trains in April were delayed more often than they had in a long time.

Deutsche Bahn: Construction sites lead to delays

The ICE and Intercity trains arrived on time 69.1 percent of the time, as the company announced in May.

This means that they each exceeded their scheduled arrival times by less than six minutes.

The last time the punctuality rate in a month was lower was in July 2015.

A railway spokesman attributed the deterioration mainly to construction sites.

A record sum of 13.6 billion euros will flow into rails and train stations this year.

"In April, the railway focused on particularly busy routes." The railway had announced in advance that the journey could often take longer during the Easter period due to construction sites.

Accordingly, there were larger works between Berlin and Munich, Fulda and Frankfurt, Frankfurt and Cologne, Karlsruhe and Basel as well as Stuttgart and Ulm.

"In addition, the ongoing border controls also had a negative impact on punctuality," said the spokesman.

Deutsche Bahn does not achieve its punctuality quota

During the Easter holidays, the train counted as many passengers for the first time as before the corona pandemic.

From Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday alone, 1.8 million people traveled long-distance, 20 percent more than at Easter 2019. The introduction of the nine-euro ticket should bring many more passengers to Deutsche Bahn in the summer months.

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And that should further increase the potential for frustration, because the trains will probably not be more punctual in the coming months - only fuller.

For the year as a whole, the Group has set itself the goal of achieving a punctuality rate of 80 percent in long-distance transport.

However, it is questionable whether DB will be able to comply with this.

For comparison: in 2021 only 75.2 percent of all long-distance trains arrived at the planned time.

Except for 2020 (82 percent), Deutsche Bahn has not managed to break the 80 percent mark for a decade.

Deutsche Bahn: Even in the summer of 2023, there may be more frequent delays

The group expects that many construction sites will slow down the trains for a few more years - including next summer.

The railways absolutely have to bring their ailing rail network into shape and expand it - and is currently busy building.

The problem for passengers: Even without construction sites, the utilization of the network is already “125 percent” on some heavily frequented routes, DB confirms to

.

So the rails are too full.

In addition, according to internal papers, plans for the summer months would entail significant interventions in the rail network.

There are curfews for train traffic - a "considerable need for control" is necessary, according to

.

The investment backlog in infrastructure is estimated at almost 60 billion euros.

This means that travelers should continue to be prepared for frequent delays.