Travelers shall be aware that punctuality (< 6 mins late) of Deutsche Bahn long-distance trains is down to 52 % in November. Only 74 % reached their destination within 15 minutes late.
Recommendation is to consider this in transit times between different train connections and in reaching flights.
Source: https://www.deutschebahn.com/de/konzern/konzernprofil/zahlen_fakten/puenktlichkeitswerte-6878476
(tab "DB Fernverkehr)
Regional train performance at 86% is obviously better - but still down significantly as well.
Connections matter a lot if time is of the essence. You are more likely to keep on schedule if you...
...arrange for 20 minutes or so minimum stopover time between trains. Don't trust the 5-10-minute connection times that DB builds into its itineraries. Use the "stopover" feature to enter a layover period in the town where your connection takes place.
...specify a regional train (RE, RB, S, etc.) whenever possible and reasonable for the first travel leg. Even with a 20-minute window between trains, doing the first leg by long-distance train (IC, ICE, EC) jeopardizes your next connection, as these trains can sometimes be extremely late..
In November, 52 percent of ICE and IC trains reached their destination on time. Around 75 percent of long-distance trains were slowed down on their journey through at least one construction site. Due to the massive refurbishment of the cause, DB has had to significantly increase the construction volume in the current year: around two billion euros from DB's own funds have also flowed into the stabilisation of the infrastructure susceptible to suffering from the suffering. As a result, the short-term construction processes in particular have increased significantly year-on-year. In November 2023, the number of construction sites increased by 11 percent compared to the previous year. Punctuality has fallen by 9 percentage points compared to November 2022.
Seems construction projects are a big part of the decreased punctuality.
Good advice to build in extra time, when punctuality is essential.
I do not understand why the responsible persons for long-distance and for infrastructure get a bonus of more than 100% to their base salary (source)?
As a small individual example, we had only one ICE to catch Hanau to Freiburg (Breisgau) on our trip. It was 45 minutes late. The Hanau train station is not a place to spend a spare hour.
Then, there was an accident at Freiburg while were on the way and our ICE did not stop there. Dbahn let us off at Bad Krozingen instead, leaving many of us to catch a ride on a small local train back-tracking to Freiburg. It was a standing room only trip. If we had not had several years of good service from Dbahn, this might have discouraged us from using the train in the future.
BTW, Freiburg was worth it.
52%?!? That is truly abysmal. Renews my appreciation for SNCF here in France... And sending my thoughts to all of you who rely on those DB trains on a regular basis!
There is a popular saying:
"If you want German efficiency [in train travels], go to Switzerland."
52%??
On my visit in the end of September, 100% of all trains I took on my 9 day trip were either delayed or cancelled. Moreover, in all but one train, the carriages were so packed, no conductor could walk through the carriages to inspect tickets. My experience on the DB made Amtrak look impressive.
Had a great experience on Dec. 13, Berlin to Munich. On time departure, low crowds, friendly service.
In my last two trips to Germany, I only rode long distance trains twice. Both were significantly delayed (over half an hour), but the regional trains to which they connected all ran hourly, so I just took a later regional train. Other than the wait for the long distance trains, I was not really inconvenienced.
