Long-distance trains again significantly less punctual – economy

In May, the long-distance trains of Deutsche Bahn reached 65.5 percent of their stops on time – the ICE and IC trains have never been so late this year. Compared to the previous month, the value fell by a good five percentage points, as the railway announced on Friday. The goal of a punctuality rate of well over 70 percent is a long way off. A train is considered punctual in the statistics as long as it does not arrive at a station with a delay of more than six minutes. Train cancellations or missed connecting trains are not taken into account – accordingly, warning strikes with train cancellations are not readable in the statistics. The company gave construction sites as the reason for the delays. “In the last month alone, DB had to replace around 50,000 sleepers in the rail network as part of the special inspection program.” In order to improve punctuality in the long term, among other things, Deutsche Bahn is planning comprehensive general renovations on important routes from July 2024. This is intended to create a more reliable infrastructure. In regional transport, 92.5 percent of trains reached their destination on time in May – compared to 93.3 percent in the previous month. Far more trains are used in regional traffic than in long-distance traffic.