According to the company, more than seven million customers use the train every day. Including some stars, because not every celebrity travels with a chauffeur or on a short-haul flight. However, rail travel often means inconvenience: delays, canceled or overcrowded trains and technical problems are the order of the day.
Train bashing is therefore one of the routine topics of conversation in Germany – especially on social media, where users omit their problems when driving trains every day. And well-known personalities are not spared either: In our photo series we show some celebrities who had trouble with Deutsche Bahn and vented themselves. The actress Julie Delpy attested that Germany had the “worst train system on the planet” and advised against traveling with Deutsche Bahn: “If you have to, go on foot!”
Deutsche Bahn: Not even two thirds of the trains are on time
The star In its new issue, it deals with the background of the railway misery and the tasks that are now facing the company. Bringing the ailing network back into shape should cost 100 billion euros. Customers are particularly bothered by late trains – there is a lot of catching up to do here: In May 2023, not even two-thirds of long-distance trains reached the station on time. And according to Deutsche Bahn’s definition, a delay of up to five minutes is still considered to be on time.
The delays cost Deutsche Bahn dearly: in 2022, the company had to pay a total of 92.7 million euros in compensation to its customers. Train passengers are entitled to these refunds if their train is delayed by more than an hour. In the previous year it was still 54.5 million euros less. Deutsche Bahn is well aware of the problems: “Quality and punctuality were not acceptable in 2022, so there is nothing to be said about it,” said company boss Richard Lutz at the end of the year. Work is now to be done on solutions – so that in future the average consumer and celebrity can travel in a relaxed manner.