Traffic: Deutsche Bahn delays are increasing

The long-distance trains of Deutsche Bahn were delayed more often in April than they have been for a long time. The ICE and Intercity trains arrived on time in 69.1 percent of the cases, as the company announced on Monday.

This means that they each exceeded their scheduled arrival time by less than six minutes. The last time the punctuality rate in a month was lower was in July 2015.

A railway spokesman attributed the deterioration mainly to construction sites. A record sum of 13.6 billion euros will flow into rails and train stations this year. “In April, the railway focused on particularly busy routes.”

The railway had announced in advance that during the Easter period the journey could often take longer due to construction sites.

Accordingly, there were larger works between Berlin and Munich, Fulda and Frankfurt, Frankfurt and Cologne, Karlsruhe and Basel as well as Stuttgart and Ulm. “In addition, the ongoing border controls had a negative impact on punctuality,” said the spokesman.

Easter: number of passengers again above pre-corona level

During the Easter holidays, the train counted as many passengers for the first time as before the corona pandemic. From Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday alone, 1.8 million people traveled long-distance, 20 percent more than in the previous year. According to the company, ICE and IC trains were used to capacity at an average of 54 percent, with special trains also being used.

For the year as a whole, the Group has set itself the goal of achieving a punctuality rate of 80 percent in long-distance transport. In 2021, an average of just over 75 percent of the ICE and IC trains were on time.

The group expects that many construction sites will slow down the trains for a few more years. He puts the investment backlog in infrastructure at almost 60 billion euros. The punctuality target for 2030 is 85 percent.