Rail transport
DB and Flixtrain are rather poor in European comparison
Prices, reliability, booking experience – how good are the trains in Europe? A ranking list provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of German providers.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Flixtrain perform rather poorly compared to other European rail operators. The state-owned DB comes in 16th place in a ranking of 27 European railways, while the private competition comes in 20th place.
This emerges from a survey by the European umbrella organization Transport & Environment (T&E), which advocates for sustainable transport. The members include the German Transport Club (VCD) and the German Nature Conservation Association.
When it comes to punctuality, the two German railway companies perform even worse, with DB almost at the bottom. However, both Deutsche Bahn and Flixtrain can score points in individual areas.
Ticket prices are given the highest weight
“DB and Flixtrain have to go the extra mile to catch up in terms of service and quality and to provide a better offer for Germany and Europe,” said Alexander Kaas Elias, the VCD spokesman responsible for the railway.
T&E takes eight criteria into account for the evaluation. Ticket prices are given the greatest weight. Other criteria include reliability, the booking experience, the amenities on board and – if available – night trains and the ability to take bicycles with you. The evaluation focuses on medium and long-haul connections.
Italians and Swiss in front
At the top are the Italian railway company Trenitalia and the Swiss Federal Railways SBB. The Italians impress with 7.7 out of 10 possible points in almost all areas, and they even achieved the best score in the special tariffs and discounts category. The SBB (overall rating 7.4), on the other hand, achieved the best value in Europe of 7.8 in terms of reliability. The Czech private company Regiojet also comes in at 7.4 – mainly because of cheap tickets.
In last place, however, comes the provider Eurostar, which runs high-speed trains from London through the Eurotunnel. The main reason for this is high ticket prices, but also low reliability. Eurostar charges almost twice the European average per kilometer driven, but it doesn’t provide any better service, they say.
Flixtrain is four times cheaper than Deutsche Bahn
According to the evaluation, the German private railway Flixtrain is the cheapest provider. At three cents per kilometer driven, Flixtrain is four times cheaper than Deutsche Bahn. On the Hamburg-Berlin route the prices are even 5.5 times cheaper.
Deutsche Bahn can’t score points with reliability either. With a value of 2.5, the group ranks third from last among all providers. Passengers often experienced delays and cancellations, it said. Flixtrain scores 3.9 points and is ranked 17th. The DB is particularly impressive with a very good booking experience (9.6) and good experiences with the journey itself (8.7).
dpa
Source: Stern
