Status: 03.07.2022 2:39 p.m
Canceled flight connections and long queues at airports have apparently triggered a boom in rail travel. Especially the Sprinter trains between the big cities benefit. When it comes to the punctuality of the train, however, wishes remain unfulfilled.
Chaos at the airports, joy at Deutsche Bahn headquarters. “In the current situation, more and more people are using the train instead of the plane in Germany,” said a spokesman for the “Spiegel”. The number of passengers on the train is increasing.
Among other things, the Sprinter trains along the domestic German flight routes are very popular. According to Deutsche Bahn, more than 20,000 passengers used the Sprinter every day in May. “This is a whopping plus of over 40 percent compared to the same period in the pre-Corona year 2019,” said the company spokesman. Sprinter connections between Berlin and Munich, Frankfurt and from North Rhine-Westphalia are therefore very well booked.
“The pre-bookings for July/August clearly continue the sprinter boom,” the spokesman continued. Many train journeys are therefore booked by the airlines themselves, including when a flight is canceled and the passengers are rebooked on the train.
Popular, but less punctual
The train also struggles with punctuality. The editorial network Germany reported, citing its own calculations, that 59.5 percent of long-distance trains were on time in June. In May it was still 62.4 percent. The newspaper group referred to Deutsche Bahn’s definition that a train is on time if it is no more than six minutes late at the stop.
Deutsche Bahn itself gives the punctuality value for May as 62.7. Construction sites, especially in busy sections, would have “massively impaired” punctuality. The company has not yet published any figures for June.