Travelling back to Germany from Holland during a public holiday, Sofia, who lives in Frankfurt, was expecting a journey of around four hours. But halfway through the journey with her partner and young child, her train was suddenly terminated and they were told to find another connection.
“We jumped on another train and demanded that we stayed in the first class carriage since we were travelling with a toddler and had made already two seat reservations for two trains that got cancelled, and the conductor treated us like scum,” she told The Local.
Though small chocolates were given out as a minor compensation, the journey didn’t improve from there – with the final train arriving half an hour late.
This type of experience appears to be an increasingly common one on Deutsche Bahn trains, with recent German media reports suggesting that just 52 percent of long-distance trains arrived at their destination on time this June.
For Sofia, the stress of the latest ordeal has caused her to reconsider using trains and the young family is now considering buying a car.
READ ALSO: 10 tips for travelling with kids in Germany
“When you are travelling for hours on top of your estimated journey time, or constantly have to change plans on the go it is hard to keep an adult patient, never mind a child,” she said. “It is also so much stress for the parents it’s not manageable anymore.”
The Local recently conducted a reader survey to hear people’s experiences of train travel in Germany. The responses were mixed, but most of our readers said they had experienced delays.
Max, 34, from Hamburg, said he had twice had delays of four hours and regularly experienced 1-2 hour delays on Deutsche Bahn trains.
At the other end of the country, Munich resident Orestis told us he had also had to cope with frequent schedule changes and cancellations.
“Trains are generally unreliable which makes planning travels with them harder,” he said. “I’ve frequently had to wait 1-2 hours and strikes last year meant I had to postpone my vacation by a day.”
For 42-year-old Steve from Cologne, the regular delays on Deutsche Bahn trains were having a knock-on effect on his daily life, with his commute on the Cologne Airport to Dortmund route constantly plagued by issues.
“Almost 90 percent of commute-to-work journeys are delayed or cancelled or overcrowded,” he lamented, adding that he always aimed to take earlier trains than necessary in order to have a chance of arriving on time.
Asked whether he felt put off from taking Deutsche Bahn trains, Steve said he had no alternative but that the experience had left him “demotivated”.
In perhaps the most damning indictment of all, the Cologne resident said Germany’s rail services were “now on a par with UK train travel”.
A worsening situation?
Many readers also pointed out that they felt the situation on Deutsche Bahn had worsened over the past few decades due to low investment.
Kate Alexander, 75, who lives abroad but owns a second home in Mackenbach, said she sometimes misses her connections due to late trains.
“I have used train travel in the 70’s and never experienced these delays,” she said, adding that Deutsche Bahn should review what worked in those years and try to implement those solutions.
Phil Greenall, 59, who lives in Limburgerhof, said he had seen the same decline in services in recent years.
“Living near Mannheim, the ICE was once a convenient 30-minute journey to Frankfurt airport that I used on average three times per month,” he told us.
“It became so unreliable that in the last 18 months, my company approved me to use my car and park at the airport to ensure flights were caught and I could get home without a €250 taxi ride.”
READ ALSO: Why has German train punctuality got so bad?
Phil believes that years of underinvestment in infrastructure and cost savings have led to a collapse in the reliability of services in Germany.
“German trains used to have a strong positive reputation, but they are fast catching up with the UK as being totally unreliable,” he added.
The damage done to Germany’s reputation as a punctual and efficient country manifested itself in damning media reports during the Euro 2024 championship in the country.
“Forget everything you thought you knew,” wrote one New York Times journalist in a scathing report following travel chaos in Gelsenkirchen during the tournament.
READ ALSO: ‘Welcome to Germany’ – Euro 2024 travel chaos raises questions about German efficiency
David, 43, who lives abroad but regularly visits Germany, describes taking German trains as “one of the worst and most stressful experiences in life”.
“Constant cancellations and delays,” he said. “Trains stopped in the middle of nowhere with barely any alternative to continue traveling. Pure hell.”
On his frequent visits, David now pays for a taxi for the 80 kilometre journey from the airport rather than taking unreliable trains.
“Friends of mine are doing the interail, and are avoiding Germany because of this massive issue,” he added.
Some positives
Though there was plenty of vitriol towards Deutsche Bahn from our readers, there were also some positive comments about the state of German trains.
Asked how long-distance travel in Germany should be rated, 56 percent of respondents described it as “terrible” or “unsatisfactory”, while around 38 percent described it as “good” or “very good” and six percent thought it was “excellent”.
Anders, 57, from Berlin, pointed out that the delays he had experienced had nothing to do with Deutsche Bahn and that staff on the trains had done their utmost to improve the passenger experience.
“For all its problems it is still fairly fast and reliable, friendly and comfortable,” he said.
Several readers also pointed to the comfort of travelling on modern Deutsche Bahn trains and the good amenities on board, from play areas to restaurants.
“German trains are actually really good in terms of comfort, quality and pricing,” said 38-year-old Kiel resident Joakim. “It’s just the punctuality that is the problem.”
According to Joakim, the on-board restaurant on German trains and even better than those offered by the French train operator TGV, and the internet tends to be reliable.
Michael Bruce, 76, from Stuttgart, mentioned the brilliant intercity rail coverage in Germany and the pleasant staff onboard the trains.
While the rail network in Germany may be a little creaky, the sheer scale of it is impressive, many readers pointed out.
“Almost every single town has a train station, no matter how small the town,” said one respondent. “It might not be a fast train, but it is there. It will get you from point A to B.”
READ ALSO: Why a Deutsche Bahn job ad sparked laughs – and likely a few applicants
Even Sofia, who suffered an eight-hour ordeal between Holland and Frankfurt, said train travel in Germany could sometimes be a source of pleasure.
“When it’s good it’s great. It’s our preferred way to travel,” she said. “The fact that they have family areas is also a nice feature we love to use when available.
“There are some really nice train rides, such as Frankfurt to Milan, that are just great to take in and everybody can enjoy while relaxing – no designated driver to stress.”
While some people said they were considering transitioning to car in the coming years, others were insistent that train travel was still a major improvement on the alternatives.
“Roads can often be clogged up,” said Joakim. “Air travel is extremely uncomfortable on so many levels. Trains, even if they are late, at least allow you to have a seat with good leg room, a bistro where you can get snacks, and you can always get up and stretch your legs.”
Frankfurt resident Richard, 70, who commutes to Munich every other week, said he felt Deutsche Bahn was currently playing catch-up after years of neglect and that services could improve over the next few years.
READ ALSO: ‘More seats’ – How Deutsche Bahn is tackling overcrowding on German regional trains
Asked whether he would consider taking a different form of transport in future to avoid delays and cancellations, he response was unequivocal.
“Not at all,” he said. “It still beats driving.”
Thank you so much to everyone who completed our survey. Although we weren’t able to use all the responses, we read them all and they helped inform our article. Look out for a follow-up article sharing readers’ ideas for solving Deutsche Bahn’s problems.
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Couldn’t agree more. Germany is super inefficient, wether it’s trains, telecom, road-work, taxes… it’s a mess quite honestly.
Having gone through this wonderful survey, I feel adding on a positive note note that after all said and done, the Deutsche Bahn‘s security consciousness and records are equal to none and for me that is the most important. The so called seemingly delays cannot be disassociated from this compelling fact. More so no infrastructure can be modernized or improved without first experiencing Baustelle. So me thinks that no matter the delay, it’s better to be late than the late.