Rail traffic: Deutsche Bahn: Every third long-distance train in 2022 too late

In 2022, Deutsche Bahn had its long-distance passengers wait more often than it had in at least ten years. The punctuality rate was 65.2 percent in the past twelve months and thus 10 percentage points below the previous year’s level, as the group announced on Monday. The railways cited the outdated and scarce infrastructure, many construction sites and a rapidly growing volume of traffic as reasons.

The coming months are also likely to be challenging with ongoing infrastructure problems and pending wage negotiations. The Group goal for this year is a punctuality value in long-distance transport of more than 70 percent – in previous years, Deutsche Bahn aimed for a value of over 80 percent.

A train is considered late in the statistics if it arrives at a stop with a delay of more than six minutes. Train cancellations are not taken into account.

Punctuality in long-distance transport fell over the course of the year from 80.9 percent in January to less than 60 percent in summer – a level that passengers last experienced in the snow chaos at the end of 2010. Deutsche Bahn owes the fact that the annual value is over 65 percent to its balance sheet for the first four months. Since May, the monthly punctuality rate has ranged between 56.8 and 63.2 percent.

In regional traffic, 91.8 percent of all stops were reached on time. Since significantly more trains are on the move here, journeys with delays are not so important. The lowest values ​​were recorded in summer – i.e. during the 9-euro ticket with far more passengers – after that the trains ran a little more punctually.

Rail network at the limit of performance

In view of far-reaching infrastructure problems, a quick and significant improvement is not in sight. The rail network has been neglected for a long time and can no longer cope with the high volume of traffic. DB infrastructure board member Berthold Huber now wants to make the existing network fit in order to increase capacity. Because the number of passengers is also to increase significantly in the coming years, according to the Federal Government’s wishes, after all, rail will play a key role for future mobility and with a view to the climate goals of transport. But it is also clear that the infrastructure cannot be modernized in a few weeks or months.

From 2024, the group wants to completely renovate particularly important routes. The idea: It’s better to repair everything once than just the bare essentials over and over again. It starts in 2024 with the route between Frankfurt and Mannheim. The route between Berlin and Hamburg is to follow in 2025 and will be completely closed for around six months. During the construction phase, the pain is likely to increase, especially for commuters. “It is important that everything is really finished afterwards,” says the honorary chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, Karl-Peter Naumann.

Vehicle fleet is rejuvenated

“The railways must now do what they can and, above all, get better when there are disruptions in trains,” says Naumann. According to DB, three new ICEs will be delivered per month in 2023 and the fleet will be rejuvenated accordingly. Above all, the ICE 4 is a “significant plus,” says Naumann. Almost 140 such trains are currently being delivered. The railway is also currently receiving ICE 3 neo trains, 73 of which have been ordered.

Meanwhile, politicians must ensure that the infrastructure can be improved, for example by providing enough money, says Naumann. “The current punctuality values ​​are ultimately the result of 30 years of bad savings.”

Strikes are imminent

The railway and transport union (EVG) also sees a reason for the current performance in Deutsche Bahn’s personnel policy. In recent months, the trade union has criticized the fact that there is a lack of staff, that employees have to work a lot of overtime and are exposed to a high overall burden, for example from the 9-euro ticket.

Collective bargaining between the EVG and DB begins at the end of February – in view of the situation at the railways and the sharp rise in consumer prices, the union should not be satisfied with small increases. “The expectations among the colleagues are huge: At least one inflation adjustment must be made – with permanent increases in the tables,” said the new EVG boss Martin Burkert of the dpa in early December. The exact requirement has not yet been determined.

“You don’t have to be a great clairvoyant to see that we will be dealing with a high demand,” said DB HR Director Martin Seiler recently. At the same time, the group is struggling with high cost increases, for example in energy and construction. “It will be important for us to balance both,” he emphasized. The railway wants to hire around 25,000 people in 2023 and thus provide relief. The bottom line is that the number of employees should increase by around 9,000.

If the wage negotiations drag on, there is a risk of strikes – and with them great trouble, especially for commuters. After all, the punctuality rate is not affected by possible train cancellations – because these are simply not taken into account.