The punctuality of German long-distance trains fell further last year: only around two thirds of the trains reached their destination on time in 2023. The railway justifies this with numerous construction sites.
More than one in three long-distance trains operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB) were unpunctual last year. As the company announced today, 36 percent of stops were reached with a delay of more than 5:59 minutes. This means that the punctuality rate in long-distance transport fell to 64 percent last year after 65.2 percent in 2022. The group had already cashed in on the initial punctuality target of more than 70 percent for long-distance transport a few months ago.
Punctuality was significantly better in regional transport: 91.0 percent of the trains arrived at their destination less than six minutes late and therefore on time according to the railway’s definition. In 2020, 95.6 percent of stops in regional traffic and 81.8 percent in long-distance traffic were reached on time.
Route closures for General renovation
Deutsche Bahn justifies the poor punctuality rate primarily with the many construction sites. “Around 75 percent of long-distance trains were slowed down as they traveled through at least one construction site at the end of the year,” the DB said. The rail infrastructure in Germany is considered dilapidated, many routes are in urgent need of renovation and are therefore prone to failure.
Starting this year, numerous routes will be gradually renovated. By 2030, the railway wants to turn dozens of routes into high-performance corridors through so-called general renovation. During a general renovation, the respective route is usually completely closed for months – this could mean further disruptions for passengers.
The most punctual day was New Year’s Eve
According to Deutsche Bahn, the least punctual day of the year was December 22nd – in the middle of Christmas traffic, storm Zoltan disrupted traffic in Germany as a whole and thus also rail traffic. According to the company, the railway’s punctuality rate for long-distance transport that day was 35.6 percent. The railway achieved its best results on New Year’s Eve: 84.2 percent of long-distance train stops were reached on time on December 31st.