German Trains: Nightmare

Well, between Portugal, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, of course Germany is the most expensive. I always found Germany to be quite reasonable. Now if your itinerary was Switzerland, Germany, Norway, and Sweden, you'd be raving about what a bargain Germany was.

And yes, the train situation in Germany seems to have gotten pitiful.

Haven't been Germany for two years. But I can't believe how bad the DB rail system has become in that time. Seems to me, last time I was there, the timing of train departures was still impeccable. Or maybe I was just lucky?

Here’s another thread from 1 month ago about German trains.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/german-trains-are-they-as-bad-as-i-m-hearing

Did you purchase the tickets using the DB Navigator app and didn’t get notified?

Incredible that in Germany-- Europe's vaunted engine of the E.U. economy-- Deutsche Bahn seems to be sliding downward in having their trains run on time.

Now, at least the U.S. has company in becoming partly third-world!

Yes, I purchased the tickets through the DB app. I also had a German rail pass.

"Yes, I purchased the tickets through the DB app. I also had a German rail pass."

If you had a rail pass you did no need tickets.

"They just gave me a shrug and told me to book an alternative route"

They would not have told you to book an alternative route. They would have told you to just look up an alternative (and might have done that for you) and just take it. Never, ever, open your wallet after a railway messes up.

DB is indeed in trouble. But My relatives, that need 5 connections to come and visit me have lately always all arrived on time, so it is not universally everywhere. I also believe that some people have the wrong expectations. This is mass transit. If a Subway train is cancelled the people of NY will just find themselves another train to ride on. DB works on the same principle... And because they do run frequently you can do that easily. So the thing to do when there are irregularities is to get out your DB app and just look up an alternative schedule, and then just take it.

I also found Germany extremely expensive and the people extremely
grumpy. What's with that? It was particularly shocking coming over
from Portugal, where everything is affordable and the people are
great.

On the whole the cost of living in Germany is about equal to that in Texas. But the cost of tourism might be higher depending on where you went. Dont know. Portugal and Poland both have costs of living a third to half less than any place in the US so even if the cost of tourism is disproportionate to the cost of living, it will still seem cheap. The Czech Republic also, but there the tourism can be sort of pricy in Prague.

Grumpy Germans? No comment.

The trains? Thay havent been anyting to brag about for at least 20 years. https://ibir.deutschebahn.com/2023/en/combined-management-report/product-quality-and-digitalization/the-customer-is-at-the-center-of-our-actions/punctuality/ I suppose there are outstanding national rail lines in Europe. Cant imagine which. Never understood the "romance of the rails". It amounts to hour after hour after hour of sitting in an airline Premium Economy seat with a view no better than what you would have out an airplane window at 30.000 feet. If the trip is more than 4 hourts by train, I look for Wizz and Ryan.

"If you had a rail pass you did no need tickets."
I used the rail pass for some of my rides. But not all of them. Some I had to purchase tickets for through the DB app.

"DB is indeed in trouble. But My relatives, that need 5 connections to come and visit me have lately always all arrived on time, so it is not universally everywhere. I also believe that some people have the wrong expectations. This is mass transit. If a Subway train is cancelled the people of NY will just find themselves another train to ride on. DB works on the same principle... And because they do run frequently you can do that easily. So the thing to do when there are irregularities is to get out your DB app and just look up an alternative schedule, and then just take it."

Sorry, but I live in Tokyo where trains are way more efficient. Sure, there are delays from time to time, but these are rare. And the stations are far easier to navigate, with friendly and helpful staff members at every stop. They may not speak English well, but they certainly try to help. If a train was ever cancelled, they would certainly let you know.

If you live in Tokyo then yes, DB's "performance" (hmm-hmm) is a shock! I mean, DB does get you there...eventually. I thankfully never have to go far into Germany, but crossing the border from France often leads to problems like random stops, missed connections, etc., and when I use the Strasbourg-Paris trains (which is often) I have now learned to avoid booking those that come from Germany.

There is a silver lining of sorts, if you buy an early Super Sparpreis ticket a couple months ahead, chances are better than 50/50 that some part of the journey, especially if international, will be cancelled or changed, cancelling your ticket, but turning your ticket into a free pass for any train on that route.

Has happened to me on 3 of 4 long rides this year.

A good number of trains I took in Germany this time were late but unlike last summer no train cancelled out on me. I don't use the DB app, just kept myself informed by listening to the announcements with due attention and looking at the electronic boards.

Most definitely, taking the German trains now can be unnerving, just depends on your luck. You factor that part into the trip. Like last summer I had the experience of having to get off since the train was no longer going to continue its route. Everyone was told to get off, so we all did in a eastern German town, ended up waiting one hour , which of course, you don't know that while standing on the platform. Finally, a train with Magdeburg as its terminus arrived. We all got on. No tourists or foreigners at all here, all German, all eastern Germans. The only language you heard on the train, on the platform was German.

Last summer that very same thing happened near Nuremberg. Everyone had to get off since the door wouldn't shut, ended waiting 45 mins or so.

Cant imagine which. Never understood the "romance of the rails". It
amounts to hour after hour after hour of sitting in an airline Premium
Economy seat with a view no better than what you would have out an
airplane window at 30.000 feet. If the trip is more than 4 hourts by
train, I look for Wizz and Ryan.

Tell me, how much is premium economy on Ryanair? :-)

Generally speaking getting anywhere will easily eat up a day. I rather spend that day in a train, than waiting for something to happen at an airport... But to each his own.

Well, my comparison to Premium economy was ill-advised. Premium economy seats are fairly comfortable and recline. Neither applies to this Austrian tin can I am in and will be in for 6 more hours. I would gladly be sitting in an airport coffe shop watching a match till flight time. But each to ....

My train goes on to Germany. They just announced a one to 2 hour delay in Germany.

I also found Germany extremely expensive and the people extremely grumpy.

Germans are not the most gregarious people, especially compared to uber-friendly Americans. But that does not mean they are grumpy. Germans tend to strictly follow rules, which they believe are in place for logical reasons. Americans, on the other hand, tend to question rules and may try to circumvent them. How many posts have you seen here asking for ways to get around baggage limits?

So if you went expecting warm hugs from Germans, I can understand your disappointment. But generally, if you are respectful and polite to Germans, you will get the same courtesy back from them (at least in my experience).

And Germany is pretty much right in the middle when it comes to the cost of travel there. It's more expensive than places like Poland or Portugal or Spain, but certainly less expensive than the UK, France and Scandinavia, imo. I found the prices pretty reasonable myself.

DB's decline is a shame. Used to be so good. I'm also more often considering renting a car in Germany nowadays.

I agree with Mardee's view....pretty accurate.... on what to expect from Germans based on observations and experiences of 50plus years of traveling there and being aware of the cultural cues. Knowing the language is an absolute plus and being willing to use it without feeling intimidated, etc. I have no problems at all in that regard , be it in North Germany, ie, from Elbe to the Oder, in western or in southern regions.

One has to factor in the dreaded unexpected and other problems when taking DB now. Based on what I saw on German TV news (n-tv) in the hotel breakfast room, the punctual , smooth running trains I experienced in the 1970s and '80s are gone.

I don't necessarily follow the straight line approach on train traveling. There are times I tailor my own routes, eg if the app shows no night train from Dresden to Munich, true, and you're determined to do that route by night, then it can be done by night train...tailor the route yourself.

You can't compare Japanese trains to anywhere, except Switzerland.

If you spend any time watching European train vloggers (and I spend way too much time doing that), the sad decline of DB is well known. Even the Man in Seat 61 would agree.

And if you thought Germany was expensive, welcome to Switzerland! But you do get your money's worth.

Knowing the language is an absolute plus and being willing to use it without feeling intimidated, etc.

I definitely agree with this. My German is not nearly as good as Fred's but I found that when I spoke German to locals, they were much more inclined to chat with me. They were probably laughing inwardly at my mistakes, but were kind enough to keep up the conversation in German.

Interesting to read about the German train nightmare. Very recently returned from 2 weeks in Switzerland. The trains were clean and on time. Fairly expensive and NOT air conditioned. Seems the Swiss are on a "Swisstainability' [their word] campaign to deal the global warning. Worthy goal. Hotels not air conditioned which, as the average daily temperature was 93/4 degrees, was depressing. SBB, the Swiss train system seemed to me well-organized and efficient. Learning how to use their big red and white ticket machines the first time was a bit confusing. See if you can learn online before you go.'
Yes, Switzerland is very expensive. One tour member was a Japanese woman. Her Japanese guide book advised buying food in the good grocery stores, such as COOP - much! cheaper than hotels and most restaurants. However, we did eat delicious food in restaurants. Plan carefully before you go.