All signs point to trouble for Deutsche Bahn. It’s just starting with the 9-euro ticket, when criticism from the company’s own ranks hails. Whether in the summer when the trains are full thanks to the 9-euro ticket or in the months – and years – afterwards: anyone who embarks on a journey by train has to be prepared for frustration and delays.
Punctual like Deutsche Bahn – it is no wonder that this expression has not become a dictum. The delays in long-distance traffic have reached a new record high for 7 years, a good third of all trains are running much later than planned.
At the start of the 9-euro ticket: Deutsche Bahn in a desolate condition
One of the reasons for this is the dilapidated rail network, which is to be built now and in the coming years. At the same time, the aim is to double the number of passengers by 2030 and get more freight onto the rails. “We have a dilemma that can hardly be resolved in the short term: to grow and modernize at the same time,” says Deutsche Bahn boss Richard Lutz, preparing passengers for what is to come: Delays, cancellations, chaos that DB and its customers have never experienced before.
These are unusually drastic words on the part of the railway. But a colleague is even clearer: “The railway companies and the customers will go through a valley of tears”says Klaus-Dieter Hommel, chairman of the railway and transport union and deputy chairman of the DB supervisory board (source: Manager Magazin).
He mercilessly takes the company to court: “The obsolescence and capacity problems are self-inflicted. Maintenance has been neglected.” This not only applies to less frequented secondary routes, but also to the core network.
After all: The modernization of the DB is politically wanted in order to steer more passengers into the trains and thus away from the car, so there is no lack of money. With the launch of the 9-euro ticket, however, such tones come at an inopportune time for train passengers – and there is no quick improvement in sight.
What you need to know about the 9 euro ticket:
Recovery at DB could take years
On the contrary it will “It will take years to get better”, according to Hommel. At DB, however, one hopes that passengers will appreciate the current efforts. One builds on the fact that the positive effects for environmental protection also count for the customers.