Germany’s state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) is blaming strikes, construction work and storms for a poor punctuality record in the first half of this year, with just 62.7% of long-distance trains arriving without major delay.
“The massive strikes, country-wide construction work and in particular extreme weather to an unprecedented extent in the first half-year have depressed the figure,” DB said in Berlin on Thursday.
The figure was six percentage points down on the same period last year.
The situation in June was particularly difficult, with flooding, damage to embankments and landslides in several regions at the same time, DB said. Almost half the long distance trains suffered delays, defined as running at least six minutes late.
The punctuality rate for trains in June came in at 52.9%.
The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship took place in Germany between June 14 and July 14, with reports from foreign media about train breakdowns and overcrowded platforms causing acute embarrassment for a country that once prided itself on precision, punctuality and high-quality infrastructure.
A new passenger punctuality statistic introduced at the start of the year also hit a low of 55.3% in June.
The figure takes into account how many passengers reach their destinations without a delay of 15 minutes or more. It also takes into account cancelled services.
DB said it was abandoning its target announced at the start of the year of 70% trains arriving punctually. The figure was no longer attainable for the year, it said.
