The punctuality – or unpunctuality – of Deutsche Bahn is always a source of irritation for train passengers.
Elsewhere in Europe things are much better.
The train is usually the environmentally friendly alternative to flying – especially when traveling within a country.
Whether the train is actually an option as a means of transport also depends on how punctual it is in the respective country.
Deutsche Bahn has a rather bad reputation here:
According to the online portal
Reisereporter , an evaluation of the
zugfinder.net
portal reveals that Deutsche Bahn was only able to show a punctuality rate of 63.6 percent in 2022 - making the Federal Republic of Germany last in Europe .
In the analysis, trains that enter the station more than five minutes after the scheduled arrival time are considered late.
In Switzerland, trains are the most punctual
At the other end of the spectrum is Switzerland: a whopping 96.3 percent of all long-distance trains were on time here last year.
This means that travelers to Switzerland do not have to worry too much about delays within the country.
A German train station also benefits from the conscientiousness of Switzerland: Konstanz is the most punctual train station in the Federal Republic, as many trains from the neighboring country arrive here.
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In a European comparison, trains in Switzerland are the most punctual.
© Imago
Somewhat behind, but still quite punctual, are the long-distance trains in Denmark: 91 percent of them were at the station at the scheduled time in 2022.
The Netherlands follows with 90.5 percent punctuality.
Such values are not achieved everywhere in Europe.
As already mentioned, Germany is in last place in the ranking.
Trains in Italy are also relatively unpunctual, with only 67.8 percent arriving on time, and railways in the Czech Republic with 72.9 percent punctuality.
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Train stations and trains to avoid in Germany
If you value punctuality, you should avoid certain train stations - if that is possible for you as a local or traveler.
Cologne-West station is one of them: According to
zugfinder.net
, only 24.6 percent of all long-distance trains arrive on time.
Next come the train stations in Bonn-Beuel with 34.6 percent and the main train station in Bingen (Rhine) with 39 percent.
Deductible or paying more because of age: mistakes in trip cancellation insurance
Deductible or paying more because of age: mistakes in trip cancellation insurance
Certain trains also have a reputation for not being particularly punctual: the IC 2217 from Greifswald to Stuttgart and the IC 2311 from Westerland to Stuttgart only managed 11.2 percent to arrive on time in Stuttgart on this route.
But things are even less punctual in Italy: the Frecciarossa 8820 from Taranto to Milan was only able to be on time for 3.2 percent of its 341 journeys in 2022 – that’s just eleven journeys.
List of rubrics: © Imago
