When The Local surveyed readers a few weeks back to find out their experiences on German trains, the results were unsurprising: despite the many positive aspects of Germany’s rail system – such as the impressive size of the network – journeys on Deutsche Bahn tended to be plagued by delays and disruptions. 

Readers described prospective four-hour journeys that had taken twice as long and involved numerous cancellations; also regular delays in their daily commute, and a general feeling of dismay and disillusionment.

Cologne resident Steve, 42, said he had no alternative to commuting by train but that the issues on the German rail network had left him demotivated.

“I always to plan to take two trains earlier than necessary to have even the remotest chance of arriving at my destination before the desired time,” he said.

READ ALSO: How travelling on German trains has become a nightmare for foreigners

But despite the stress of rail travel in the Bundesrepublik, many people said they still enjoyed taking the train and were hopeful that services could improve in the future.

Here were some of their ideas on how Germany could turn things around. 

Money, money, money

Discussing Deutsche Bahn’s dire punctuality stats, many of our readers blamed the problems on years of underinvestment and neglect.

“Honestly, I get the feeling this problem was created in the 90’s and 00’s by poor funding,” said 38-year-old Joakim from Kiel. “For example, I travel via Hamburg a lot and the tracks are so busy that there’s simply no space for a delayed train.”

Joakim said he thought Deutsche Bahn could improve the network with a major cash injection, particularly in new infrastructure. 

“What would be needed is the Berlin or Stockholm solution with an additional set of tracks and platforms underground,” he said. “That’d take 10 years in a normal country – 30 in Germany – but that’s really the only solution long term.”

Kirill, 38, from Hamburg, took a similar view to Joakim, stating that Germany’s rail network needed “investment in infrastructure, digitalisation, and new high-speed rail networks.” 

As 70-year-old Richard from Frankfurt noted, some of this investment is already happening, but it will take time for the impact to be felt.

“The issue is that the infrastructure was neglected for years and now DB is playing ‘catch-up’ so I would expect delays to continue for 1-3 years,” he said.

READ ALSO: Why has German train punctuality got so bad?

Readers also pointed out the regional differences when it came to improvements in infrastructure, advocating for more investment in modernisations for everyone.

“It would be great to see even more high speed sections of line installed,” said 55-year-old Stephen Finnie, who lives in the Bavarian village of Manglham. “There is nothing south of Ingolstadt.”

In some cases, the problems with connections could potentially be linked to German history, with one reader pointing out the startling lack of connections that cross between east and west. 

“More routes to connect east and west are necessary,” they explained. “I live in the east, and there are ridiculous connections to get from one point to another.”

Learn from the past – and other countries

Though most foreigners in Germany have only experienced Deutsche Bahn in its recent decline, some people pointed out that rail in the country didn’t always have such a bad reputation.

“The current problems are the result of years of underinvestment in infrastructure and cost savings,” said Phil, 59, from Limburgerhof. “German trains used to have a strong positive reputation, but they are fast catching up with the UK as being totally unreliable.”

This was also a point made by Kate, 75, who owns a second home in Mackenbach and frequently visits Germany. 

“I have used train travel in the 70’s and never experienced these delays,” she explained, adding that Germany should “review what worked years ago and be flexible in their thinking for current problems.” 

Another positive example could come in the form of Germany’s neighbours: Switzerland, for example, frequently achieves punctuality rates of 98 percent.

READ ALSO: German trains ‘responsible for Switzerland’s worst delays’

“Germany can learn from our Swiss neighbour how they are maintaining the punctuality,” said 36-year-old Asif from Munich. 

Better communication, more flexibility 

When several things go wrong in a single journey, even the most patient of commuters is bound to lose their temper, but many of our readers pointed out that some good communication could go a long way. (Or further than some Deutsche Bahn trains at least.)

Anders, who lives in Berlin, said Germany’s national rail operator should learn to manage people’s expectations. “Deutsche Bahn should have better information to inform the passengers how realistic connections are,” he explained. 

For Cologne resident Steve, 42, honesty was also the best policy.

“Stop ‘advertising’ rail works as being necessary to later improvements for passengers,” he said. “None – I repeat none – of the major rail works in ten years on my route have ever led to any noticeable improvement.”

In some cases, readers observed that the difference between a bad journey and a terrible one came down to customer service.

“My shock every time is that there is no contingency plan and staff support when there’s a sudden cancellation or a train broken down in the middle of nowhere,” said Frankfurt resident Sofia. “The staff is not understanding either and care more about ‘the rules’ than improving the customer experience.”

READ ALSO: What to know about Deutsche Bahn’s summer service changes

In her travels to Italy, Sofia said she had seen staff adding additional trains to prevent overcrowding.

“I’ve never seen the DB staff bringing out another train for any reason, only taking them away and letting passengers deal with the consequences,” she added.

In a simple change that could help passengers re-arrange their journeys at short-notice, Orestis from Munich called on Deutsche Bahn to be more flexible – particularly when it came to exchanging tickets.

“Even though I really like the idea of a publicly owned company, DB is truly horrible and would be universally hated if it was a private company,” he said.

“To make adoption of train travel better in Europe and Germany, DB needs to improve its terms when purchasing tickets, making cancellations and re-schedules possible when the passenger requests it in a timely manner.”