In the long-distance trains of the German course (DB) according to data of the enterprise in the past year about two per cent of the stops failed. This was due to „external circumstances such as storms, heat, accidents and strikes and technical and operational reasons,“ a railway spokeswoman in Berlin said on request.
In January, August and October, the share was even at three percent. In January, the storm lows „Burglind“ and „Friederike“ were responsible, in August, the summer heat and in October the ICE fire and its consequences on the high-speed line Cologne-Frankfurt.
An overview of the railway, which was sent by the German Federal Ministry of Transport to the FDP Group in response to a parliamentary question, shows that in 2018, depending on the month, 1.6 to 5.0 percent of the ICE stops were without replacement, at the Intercitys (IC) it was 1.0 to 3.9 percent. According to the monthly counts, therefore, 2 to 7 percent of the travelers waited in vain for the long-distance train with which they wanted to travel.
FDP: „Handicap Certificate for Railway Management“
In the middle of December, the „Wirtschaftswoche“ reported a breakdown share of 3.3 percent of long-distance traffic for 2018. However, this number also included those failures for which replacement trains were then provided.
The FDP member of parliament Torsten Herbst spoke of a „disgrace for every rail traveler and an indictment for rail management“. This balance also leads to „the already bad punctuality values of the train ad absurdum. Because according to the definition of the train have failed stops or missed trains on the punctuality no influence „, so autumn. The train must finally be honest and transparent.
The railway spokeswoman added that on average about one percent of the trains had failed on the entire route. If individual stations had not been approached, the passengers would have had the opportunity sometimes to get out at other stations in the vicinity. If there had been a delay of more than an hour, the railway would have paid the compensation due under the passenger rights.
