German experience - not quite as punctual as its old reputation would suggest

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Another day - another delayed German arrival.  For all the past reputation of German efficiency, I/we have had a whole series of late arrivals in Germany and indeed that reputation of being on time hasn't been the case. However I/we (2 of us on some journeys - me alone on some) have always easily know about out options when we arrive at final or connecting stations, and we never had a lack of information nor very much extended waits for connections.

Part 1 - from 18th May 2025

(Amsterdam) to Osnabrück
Osnabrück to Hamburg (-10 thoughout (note 7))
Hamburg to Rostock (-8 into Rostock (note 6))
Rostock to Warnemünde (-15 into Warnemünde (note 1))

Warnemünde to Rostock (whole day on time)
Rostock to Tessin
Tessin to Rostock
Rostock to Bad Doberan
+ Bad Doberan to Heiligendamm
(Heiligendamm to Rostock by bus)
Rostock to Warnemünde

Warnemünde to Rostock (whole day on time)
Rostock to Wismar
Wismar to Bad Kleinen
Bad Kleinen to Rostock
Rostock to Warnemünde

Warnemünde to Rostock (whole day on time)
Rostock to Hamburg
Hamburg to Kiel

Part 2 - from 29th May 2025

[Prague] to Berlin Hbf (-70 late into Berlin (note 2))

Berlin to Magdeburg
Magdeburg to Quedlinburg
+ Quedlinburg to Alexisbad
+ Alexisbad to Eisfelder Talmühle
+ Eisfelder Talmühl to Nordhausen Nord
Nordhausen to Halle (-6 into Halle (note 3))
Halle to Berlin (-10 late from Halle, -25 into Berlin (note 4))

Berlin to Potsdam Hbf (-5 into Potsdam (note 5))
Potsdam to Berlin (-15 into Berlin (note 5))

Berlin to Offenburg (-95 into Offenburg (note 8))
Offenburg to [Strasbourg]

Notes

+ - Not a train on the Interrail pass network

[place] - outside Gernany - this was an international train

1. Inbound conenction missed (just) so we were half an hour down and then the train to Warnemünde left on time but had to wait for the single line section for a delayed train coming the other way. This line is normally double tracked all the way but active engineering works replacing the second track mean all trains are sharing the single line.

2. The train from Prague ran AOK to Rzepin but then the locomotive had to be replaced - don't know why - at such short notice it appeared to have taken them by surprise.

3. Reason not known; I think it was congestion.

4. Classic case of 2 wrongs making a right - because of delay (3) my short connection actually made - I don't know why the train was late when I joined it, but further time was lost as we went past engineering works "wrong line" - out of path and had to wait for the single section

5. Trains overloaded and extra station time needed, especially on the journey back into Berlin.  They would have been on time if it wasn't for those pesky customers.

6. We joined this train running a little late and no time was made up. Reason unknown

7. Reason unknown.  Just slipped back?

8. About 15 late into Mannheim - again due to engineering works. But we sat there for an extended period, and we then sat for an extended period at Karlsruhr too. Explanation - translated by fellow passengers for us - was that the train was overloaded and would some people please get off.  Sort of "Mexican stand off". Eventually enough people found alternatives / gave up and got off to allow us to proceed.

[Surrey 455]

The German rail network has been in a bad way for some time.

From The Independent in 2024:
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/german-rail-delays-connections-frankfurt-b2593820.html

But even without the latest shutdowns, rail passengers in Germany are encountering a wide range of problems this summer:

• Missed connections due to late-running trains
• Sudden cancellations or re-routings
• Inadequate or incoherent information

Now, a leading expert has warned against assuming standard train connection times will work.

During his latest trip across Germany, Mark Smith – known as The Man In Seat 61 – recommended allowing extra time to change trains when planning trips online because so many services run behind schedule.

“Always change ‘Transfer time’ from ‘normal’ to 45 minutes when using bahn.de,” he wrote on X.

Almost half of German long-distance trains were at least six minutes late at some point in their journey in June 2024.

Deutsche Bahn blames outdated track infrastructure, intensive engineering work and sheer traffic density at key hubs including Frankfurt, Cologne and Stuttgart.

[Surrey 455]

In 2024, DW also reports:

The German rail network company Deutsche Bahn (DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about)) has once again smashed the myth of German trains running on time, according to statistics published by the company on Friday.

Just 64% of long-distance trains reached their destination on time — meaning less than six minutes late — last year. This was a similar share to 2022 when 65.2% could be considered punctual.

For regional trains, the rate of punctuality was much higher, with 91% reaching their destination on time.

Why are so many trains delayed in Germany?
DB said that the reason for the widespread delays was the increasing number of short-term works and repairs on the rails.

According to the rail operator's own data, around 75% of all long-distance trains had to slow down for construction sites by the end of the year.

The prospects for 2024 don't look much better, with works on the tracks continuing and even ramping up.

By 2030, Germany aims to have renovated dozens of routes into high-speed corridors that should eventually speed up journeys across the country. It has however warned that this could lead to things getting worse before they get better.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-a-third-of-long-distance-trains-delayed-in-2023/a-67964403

That article is dated 01/12/2024 (US format) and when I cut and paste it, I get 01/12/2024 January 12, 2024.

[grahame]

We spend a lot of time on the Coffee Shop logging delays and cancellations and we spend very little time logging trains that are on time. Although that's natural, and the news, and it's important to highlight issues to be fixed, it's never the less a biased picture that's out of proportion to the number of trains that [should] run.

There's a bit of a message in my original post that says "look, folks - we know there are problems in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) but there's no magic wand to fix them and other countrys struggle too.

The advise from Mark Smith to allow 45 minute connections makes sense. My own approach would, rather, be to allow 15 minutes PLUS having a fall back plan to the next train.  Arriving into Warnamunde / Kiel we had dropped back - in fact we had taken the view that we would get to Hamburg and when we got there decide on what was the next train onwards, and whether we were hungry and wanted a food break.

Here are three samplings of the departure boards at Berlin Hbf on three different days - not photographed really to show the delays, so a bit random.  And of course for long distance trains starting from that region, the picture painted in rosier than the overall picture with so many delayed, yes, by engineering works, on the way.







Now in France, and I had a series of trains planned from 09:23 ... which however was cancelled at short notice.  Blew the whole plan as some of the trains here have even longer gaps than I am used to from home. They seem to run in the peak hours with a reasonable service and then have long gaps during the day.

[johnneyw]

This may sound a bit "when I were a lad" but....when I were a lad, our annual rail journeys on the Holland-Scandinavia Express from Hoek van Holland to Hamburg (and back) where always pretty much on time...... rather important on the home leg when there was an overnight ferry to connect with.  Even the London-Harwich links ran pretty much on time.....I can recall only once the service from Liverpool Street station to Parkeston Quay running a little late but we made the sailing okay.
Now that was the 60s and early 70s and what struck me a little later in life was how in reality the distance from Hoek to Hamburg was far less than the half day train journey felt like.  It's a very different European network now, faster and undoubtedly more complicated so it comes as no surprise that line repairs and enhancements regularly need to happen.

[RichardB]

I had just the same issues with DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about) on my Interrail pass trip last February/March.  ICE Amsterdam - Koln cancelled - put on local trains (at least it kept us on the move). Working down through Germany, I had a 15 min connection at Mannheim from an Inter City train into an ICE for Basel.  My train into Mannheim was 15 mins late and the "connection" wasn't held.  An hour and a half to the next one.

Coming back, all fine from Basel to Mannheim but chaos there - I was heading for Brussels via Koln and had set off straight after breakfast to ensure I had plenty of time.  In the end, went to Koln via Frankfurt (after another hour at Mannheim).  Couldn't get on the ICE at Koln so took a local to Aachen and managed to get on the next ICE from there.

All good fun!  One day they will get it sorted. 

Mannheim is a nice station but I wouldn't mind if I never saw it (except from a train) again!

[froome]

On our Interrail trip last March my expectations were definitely upset by our experiences.

We traveled on trains in the following 8 countries:

UK^▸ (United Kingdom), France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium.

Obviously in many of these, we were on trains that crossed international borders (so delays may have been caused elsewhere). But of these 8 countries, only in one did all the trains we used run to time.

And that was...






The UK!