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TRAVEL NEWS

Almost every third German rail passenger delayed from January to November 2023

Just under 30 percent of Deutsche Bahn long-distance rail passengers in Germany arrived at their destination late in the first 10 months of 2023 and, unfortunately, the situation doesn't look likely to improve any time soon.

Published: 31 December 2023 17:19 CET
A man stands on a platform next to an ICE (Inter City Express) train at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany
A man stands on a platform next to an ICE (Inter City Express) train at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany on November 22, 2023. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)
Around 69.6 percent of German train passengers travelling between January and November of this year arrived at their respective destinations on time, Deutsche Bahn (DB) said in response to a question from Green party transport minister Matthias Gastel.

This is virtually the same as the figure for the whole of 2022.

The so-called ‘passenger punctuality’ rate is different to the ‘punctuality statistics’, which the rail company publish online each month.

The latter only shows how many trains arrived at their destination at least six minutes after their scheduled arrival time in the respective month.

In November, almost every second long-distance service met this criteria, meaning the train operator is a long way off achieving the 2023 train punctuality target of over 70 percent it set itself.

Passenger punctuality, on the other hand, measures when individual passengers arrived at their destination. It therefore takes train cancellations and replacement transport services into account.

These statistics consider a passenger to be delayed if they reach their destination at least 15 minutes later than the time on the scheduled timetable.

Between 2017 and 2020, DB’s passenger punctuality was always over 80 percent, but it’s fallen considerably since that time.

The railway only publishes these figures once a year in the annual report of its subsidiary DB Fernverkehr, but Gastel is calling for more regular updates.

“This information says more about the extent to which passengers are affected than just the counting of trains,” he said, calling for a more transparent strategy.

READ ALSO: Will Germany see more rail strikes in 2024?

The railway needs to make sure that more attention is given to trains with high occupancy figures or those with quick connections in its everyday operations, he said.

This lack of reliability is primarily due to the rail network, which has been neglected for decades and is dilapidated, outdated and completely overloaded in many places.

Numerous construction sites are slowing down train traffic nationwide, so the government has pledged many additional billions of euros to fundamentally renovate the existing network in the coming years.

Dozens of heavily polluted corridors are to be tackled by 2030, completely closed for around six months each and renovated.

This work is due to start next summer on the so-called Riedbahn stretch of railway between Frankfurt and Mannheim.

From the New Year onwards, the route will be completely closed for a few weeks in order to carry out preparatory measures for the general renovation in the second half of the year.

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WILDLIFE

Southern Germany sees explosion of mosquitos after floods

First flooding, and now a plague of mosquitos: hoards of the annoying bloodsuckers are spreading on Lake Constance. Here's what to expect if you are visiting the region.

Published: 24 June 2024 16:57 CEST
Southern Germany sees explosion of mosquitos after floods

After severe floods in southern Germany, conditions are ripe for mosquito populations to explode, according to an expert in the region. 

Rainer Bretthauer, environmental and climate protection officer at the city of Radolfzell on Lake Constance, told DPA that the popular holiday location is already seeing signs of a mosquito plague.

 Bretthauer said that the floods have offered perfect conditions for egg laying, resulting in masses of mosquito offspring.

People living around the area or visiting should be prepared, Bretthauer said. He suggested, for instance, wearing loose-fitting and long clothing.

Timing also plays a role when you’re outside. “They tend to bite during twilight hours when the temperature is higher than 18C,” he said. 

Mosquitos ‘not a bad thing for wildlife’

While growing mosquito hoards may ruin peoples’ camping trips and planned lake vacations, for local wildlife, the mosquitos are a good thing, according to the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (Nabu).

“All the insects that are now developing are a very important food source for many fish species and also for birds,” said Eberhard Klein from Nabu in Constance.

Around 50 species of mosquitoes are known in Germany. Some of them are counted among the so-called floodwater mosquitoes, which increasingly hatch after flooding.

According to experts, these mosquitos are particularly zealous blood hunters, as they have to reproduce quickly before the favourable conditions disappear again.

Floodwater mosquitoes like to lay their eggs on moist soil, often in riparian zones and floodplains. There they can survive in the soil for several years.

When these zones flood and the temperature is favourable, the eggs develop and hatch mosquitos. Therefore large-scale flooding, as seen recently in Southern Germany, can lead to mass hatching.

Mosquito borne illness is spreading to Europe as temperatures warm

Warming temperatures brought by human-caused climate change have allowed mosquito populations to extend further northward in Europe, including disease-carrying species that were previously limited to regions closer to the equator.

For example, the Asian tiger mosquito is not native to Europe but has already been observed in much of southern and central Europe, including Germany.

Tiger mosquitos are particularly concerning because they are known to spread diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika virus. Mass outbreaks of these infections have been rising globally. Last year local Dengue outbreaks were recorded in France, Italy and Spain.

With reporting by DPA

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