A commuter from Wolfratshausen accuses the railway of "trickery" in the punctuality statistics.
His petition to the Bavarian state parliament was unsuccessful.
Wolfratshausen/Munich – The commuter Fried-Thorsten Jantzen accuses Deutsche Bahn of cheating on their punctuality statistics.
As reported, the Wolfratshauser turned to the Bavarian state parliament with a petition for this reason.
But the Committee for Housing, Construction and Transport sees no need for action.
Commuters outraged: "The state parliament leaves S-Bahn users at the bus stop"
Almost every day, Jantzen, director of studies at a Munich girls' high school, uses the S7 from Wolfratshausen to get to his workplace in the state capital - and back to Loisachstadt in the late afternoon.
In October last year, the commuter kept meticulous records: he wanted to make 36 journeys with the S7, nine connections were completely eliminated, the train was only ten times on time - according to the standards of Deutsche Bahn.
However, according to Jantzen, these are questionable because: “Trains that are canceled or turn around early are simply not included in the calculation.
And the punctuality rate of the S-Bahn like the S7 is not calculated at the end points.”
According to the Wolfratshauser, the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) could put an end to these “tricks”.
It is 100 percent owned by the Free State.
It plans, finances and controls local passenger transport on all tracks in Bavaria.
But the BEG, according to Jantzen, is “inactive” when it comes to punctuality statistics.
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Fried-Thorsten Jantzen: The Wolfratshauser's petition to the Bavarian state parliament was unsuccessful.
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For this reason, Jantzen petitioned the Bavarian state parliament to do something.
Specifically: The Bavarian state government should ask the BEG to “agree on new punctuality statistics with Deutsche Bahn regarding the Munich S-Bahn” in the near future.
Jantzen emphasized: In the future, punctuality must be statistically recorded from the user's point of view.
Because as of today, Deutsche Bahn is using the opportunity to “cancel trains or make early train turns” – these connections are not included in the punctuality statistics.
S-Bahn: This is how punctuality is determined
According to the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG), every tenth Munich S-Bahn was delayed in 2021.
According to Deutsche Bahn standards, however, a train is only considered unpunctual for the statistics if it is at least six minutes late.
The same applies to trains that are completely canceled or turn around early.
The punctuality statistics are determined at only two points in the Munich S-Bahn network: at the Hackerbrücke and at Rosenheimer Platz.
If a train is only delayed on one of the outer branches such as the S7, the train is considered punctual for the statistics.
Sebastian Körber, FDP member of the state parliament from the constituency of Upper Franconia, supported the petitioners at the meeting of the 18-strong expert committee.
When asked by our newspaper, Körber, committee chairman and, in this specific case, so-called co-reporter, explained that he had suggested attaching the title "80 point 3" to Wolfratshauser's petition.
Translated, that would have meant: "Basic entitlement." But "due to the votes of the governing faction of the CSU and Free Voters" an "80 point 4" resolution was made.
It says: The petition is "declared to be settled due to a statement by the state government or due to a state parliament or committee decision".
Anyone who sees no need for action with regard to punctuality and punctuality statistics does not use the S-Bahn.
Commuter Fried-Thorsten Jantzen
The aspects presented by the petitioner "were understandable in my eyes," said Körber, a member of the state parliament, to our newspaper.
"Every commuter knows the problems of the fault-prone S-Bahn system in the Munich area.
As soon as there is another signal box malfunction at the Ostbahnhof, all trains are cancelled, which in turn leads to extensive delays for you personally on the subject: "From the point of view of the BEG, I can understand that train cancellations and train delays are quality indicators that have to be distinguished from one another and are based on different data."
Petitioner feels 'like fighting windmills'
However, the previous statistics are "distorting and do not reflect the problems in Bavarian local rail transport," says Körber.
“The petitioner complains about an obvious weakness in the system.
A change should be sought here to optimize user-friendliness”.
Since there is no "trivial solution" in the eyes of the FDP politician, he has campaigned for a more far-reaching treatment of Jantzen's demands.
The committee majority did not want this.
Jantzen's disappointment, who found out about the vote of the state parliamentarians through our newspaper, is "great".
He feels “like fighting windmills”.
The elected officials "had had the chance to do something for the S-Bahn users," says the Wolfratshauser.
"But the Bavarian state parliament lets the S-Bahn users stand at the station.
Anyone who sees no need for action in terms of punctuality and punctuality statistics will not use the S-Bahn".
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