How massive are the problems of the railways increasing? In many German regions, commuters and holidaymakers are feeling this these days. Overnight, those responsible for the group blocked connections in Berlin, Bavaria or in the Harz Mountains this week. There, the holiday resorts of Thale and Blankenburg can no longer be reached by train, Wernigerode only from Goslar.
This time, ailing concrete sleepers are to blame, as they could have caused the train accident near Garmisch at the beginning of June with five dead and many injured. Because this batch from the manufacturer is installed in many places in Germany, the components must now be checked and replaced if necessary. In at least 42 places, the trains in the country have to run more slowly, others are completely blocked. Deutsche Bahn speaks of 200,000 sleepers that may be affected. The deputy head of the largest railway union EVG, Martin Burkert, who also sits on the supervisory board of the railway, even assumes that up to a million sleepers will be affected, which the railway rejects.
Defective sleepers are considered to be a possible cause of the accident near Garmisch. The investigations are still ongoing. But a document from the Federal Ministry of Transport also mentioned defective concrete sleepers. A chemical reaction that causes the actually hard concrete to become brittle is apparently becoming a problem for the railway. If the concrete mix is not correct, the cement and mixed rock will react to the ingress of moisture. An alkali-silica reaction occurs, in which dissolved silicic acid spreads in the concrete and bursts it from the inside. In two weeks it will be clear how many sleepers now have to be replaced – and where long-term problems will arise.
Deutsche Bahn has been struggling with massive problems in the rail system for several months. It has to rehabilitate the overloaded and in many places dilapidated rail network. According to Bahn, only 69.6 percent of long-distance trains reach their destination on time due to the record number of construction sites. A year ago it was almost 80 percent. A train is considered punctual as long as it does not arrive at its destination more than six minutes late.
The rail boss admits massive problems for the customers. “Quality and punctuality are currently unacceptable,” said Richard Lutz on Thursday at the annual press conference on the company’s half-year figures. The increasing demand and more and more trains – currently 51,000 per day and thus more than ever before – meet the problems of the partly outdated and fault-prone network.
“The infrastructure is getting older every day.”
The group and the incumbent board of directors are coming under increasing pressure because of the worsening problems. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing had criticized the railway management. Federal states such as Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt have just written fire letters to the railway board. Those responsible for rail also see politics itself as having a duty. “The infrastructure is getting older every day, although the coalition agreement provides otherwise,” warns Martin Burkert, deputy head of the largest railway union, EVG. The funds provided by the federal government for the expansion of the railway were far from sufficient.
More people get on the train than they have in a long time. More than 59 million passengers traveled on long-distance trains alone in the first half of the year. That was a good twice as many as in the same period last year. In regional transport, demand rose by 60 percent to around 725 million passengers – mainly because of the nine-euro ticket. Because the business of the logistics subsidiary Schenker is running again, Deutsche Bahn is making profits again for the first time after high losses in the pandemic. Operating profit before interest and taxes was 876 million euros in the first six months of the financial year.