Around one in three long-distance trains operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB) were unpunctual last year. As a spokesman announced, 36 percent of the stops were reached with a delay of more than 5:59 minutes. The punctuality rate in long-distance transport was 64 percent – after 65.2 percent in 2022. A DB spokesman cited the many construction sites as the reason.
The rail infrastructure in Germany is considered dilapidated, many routes are in urgent need of renovation and are therefore prone to failure. “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 group had already cashed in on the initial punctuality target of more than 70 percent for long-distance transport a few months ago. By definition, a stop is reached on time if the train is less than 6:00 minutes late. In regional traffic, this was the case for 91.0 percent of trains – compared to 91.8 percent in 2022. In 2020, 95.6 percent of stops in regional traffic and 81.8 percent in long-distance traffic were reached on time.
According to the railway, December 22nd was the least punctual day of the year last year. In the middle of Christmas traffic brought a storm Zoltan 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.
Due to the condition of the route network, it is unlikely that the punctuality rate will rise significantly again in the coming months. By 2030, the railway wants to turn dozens of routes into high-performance corridors through so-called general renovation. Before that happens, however, a lot of construction work is needed again. During a general renovation, the respective route is usually completely closed for months.