Deutsche Bahn’s once-admired service has descended into chaos. Whether decades of poor investment or the company’s unusual structure is to blame, it’s a huge headache for a coalition trying to meet climate goals

Deutsche Bahn’s once-admired service has descended into chaos. Whether decades of poor investment or the company’s unusual structure is to blame, it’s a huge headache for a coalition trying to meet climate goals

The sleek high-speed train is 10 minutes behind schedule when it slides into Cologne’s main station before continuing its journey north to Dortmund. The delay is now such a common occurrence that the train manager does not even both to mention it to disembarking passengers.

In late afternoon on an unremarkable weekday in this western German city, holidaymakers are hauling suitcases through the station, workers are commuting home, and the late arrival of Deutsche Bahn’s IC 118 from Innsbruck is no surprise.

It does cause annoyance, though: a glance at the departures and arrivals board prompts one middle-aged man carrying a backpack to swear loudly as he enters the station.

  • wootz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    My family and I took the train from Copenhagen, Denmark to Bologna, Italy and back again this summer.

    By and large it was a good experience. Taking the train through the alps is something I’ll never forget.

    To my great amazement, the trains in Italy ran smoother than the trains in Germany.

    On our return trip, we zipped from Bologna to Milano and from there to Frankfurt in just under nine hours. Smooth sailing. The Frecciarossa was by far the nicest train I’ve ever been on.

    Frankfurt to Copenhagen, a noticeably shorter distance, ended up taking fifteen hours. Our 7:14 train out of Frankfurt Central got moved to another station a mere fifteen minutes prior to departure. From there, everything devolved into a mess of missed trains and lack of communication. I think we ended up switching trains five or six times.

    Deutsche Bahn is a shadow of its former self, and it makes me profoundly sad that a nation globally known for precision and efficiency has such terrible train service.

    • RufusLoacker@feddit.itEnglish
      0·
      11 months ago

      Italian here

      We give a lot of shit to our train system (and rightly so) but it actually works quite well, in comparison to our European neighbours.

      Bologna to Milano is a very nice line indeed