Saturday February 13th 2021
Digital conversion at the railway
Refunds will soon also be possible online
From a delay of one hour, Deutsche Bahn reimburses its customers for part of the ticket price. So far, however, passengers have only received their money back if they fill out a corresponding form and send it by post. That should change from summer onwards.
Starting in summer, Deutsche Bahn passengers will also be able to apply for a refund online in the event of train cancellations and delays. "This June we will offer our customers digital reimbursement options," said Berthold Huber, Board Member for Passenger Transport. So far, customers of the railways have only been able to claim money back in the same way. You have to fill out a corresponding form and send it off by post. That should be over.
According to Huber, online reimbursement is only one component of a far more comprehensive digital reorganization of the rail systems. "We're building the sales system from scratch. We're also building the navigator from scratch," said Huber, referring to the group's booking app. "The convenience check-in issue is also related to the new sales system." In the future, the automatic transfer of reservations in the event of an unscheduled train change should no longer be an issue. "If you change trains, the new system will automatically reserve you for the new train and you will receive information about the new seat via your smartphone", promised Huber. "We were repeatedly accused: I paid 4.50 euros for the reservation – and it's gone now. That'll be a thing of the past."
In contrast to the digital passenger rights form, customers have to wait even longer for such changes. By 2023, Deutsche Bahn wants to have rebuilt all digital channels for passengers. For years, customers and passenger associations have criticized the cumbersome, analogous procedure for reimbursement. In the meantime, numerous startups have emerged that use this service gap and offer passengers via app to take over the process for them. The customers then only have to provide the train information online. The companies take care of the correspondence with the railway.
Huber emphasized that the reimbursement form was just one of many innovations. "We rebuild one module at a time within the system, and these new modules can communicate with the old system." However, nothing changes in the conditions for reimbursement in long-distance transport. Passengers who are delayed by one hour at their destination receive 25 percent of the fare back. From two hours onwards, the railway reimburses half.
.