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For travel planning: Punctuality of Deutsche Bahn in 2021

Posted by (Berlin) on

We often read in this forum if and how often trains of Deutsche Bahn are on-time. Here is an answer from 2021 statistics. So better plan more train transfer time to get sure you catch the connection as planned.

Text of original article:

In Germany, a train is considered delayed if it reaches its destination more than six minutes late. Deutsche Bahn has to admit that there were a lot of delayed trains in 2021 - many more than in the previous year.

Last year, Deutsche Bahn passengers were again much more likely to be annoyed by delayed long-distance trains. On average, only 75.2 percent of ICE and IC trains arrived on time at their destination, much less than the year before, according to Deutsche Bahn.

In 2020, the first Corona year, punctuality had been just under 82 percent, the highest in 15 years. Now, Deutsche Bahn is back at the low level of the pre-Corona years, a far cry from long-term targets.

Source: Tagesschau

Posted by
6627 posts

In 2020, the first Corona year, punctuality had been just under 82
percent, the highest in 15 years.

And that's the real story... This unusually high 2020 number was the largely the product of a Covid-induced drop in the number of passengers, passenger trains, and freight trains. The rails were less crowded. Small crowds on the platforms = shorter wait times in the station. Any long-distance train making multiple stops in 2020 found punctuality much easier to achieve.

An "apples to apples" comparison would judge 2021's on-time performance (75.2%) against 2019's (which was 75.9%) and 2018's (74.9%.) My take is that in 2021, normal punctuality returned, and that 2022 passengers can probably plan much as they did 3 and 4 years ago.

All the above numbers apply just to DB's long-distance trains (IC, ICE, etc.) DB's regional trains tend to be more punctual - MUCH more punctual - than the long-distance trains, no matter the year:

2018 = 94.0%
2019 = 94.0%
2020 = 95.6%
2021 (first half) = 95.3%

When I search DB itineraries, I tend to be very skeptical about any changes from an IC/ICE train to any connecting train when the layover time is less than 15 minutes. If I'm looking to change from a regional train to any connecting train, 4-7 minutes is normally plenty of time. In big stations with 15+ platforms or where trains come and go on separate levels, I would look for additional "padding" time so as to stay on schedule.

Posted by
1479 posts

I am a naturally cautious person and usually know how long I will have to wait for the next train if I miss a connection. It is seldom more than an hour.

We have travelled to Germany 19 times since 2006 always using the trains. Our normal pace is to move after 2 nights stay. We have travelled hundreds of times and you can count the number of missed connections on one hand. Weather in April or December (snow, floods, etc.) is a common reason for a late arrivals and often that seems to affect the whole system, slowing departures as well as arrivals.

If I was riding trains for business travel, I would be more concerned about punctuality. Even as a vacationer I might be reluctant to connect to the last train at night from one town to another. For normal daytime vacation travel we find trains dependable. I am glad DB is working to keep it that way.

If I watch for anything it is planning a connection at an infrequently served station. I would rather not spend two hours at a small station with no services like a cafe.

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