By Markus Grill and
Klaus Ott, Berlin
These numbers are a single oath of disclosure by the state-owned company Deutsche Bahn (DB): 30,217 switches are in mediocre or even worse condition. Also 9570 bridges. This also applies to 3270 interlockings. That is more than half of all interlockings. And the fact that they often don’t work properly is one of the “main reasons for poor punctuality values”, i.e. for late trains. Mediocre facilities are considered “in need of repair”. This also includes several tens of thousands of kilometers of tracks. The state-owned company warns that it is “only possible for a limited period of time” to keep the railway facilities in a “sufficient condition”.