Popular success for German rail, on the verge of asphyxiation

Disturbances begin upon arrival at the station. In Stuttgart (western Germany), Monday 1er August, at 6:30 a.m., the billboards are blocked. No one knows which platform to go to. “At least, it allows to meet people”, jokes Beate (on condition of anonymity), who notes that people interact more than before”.

The customer directly ahead of her in the coffee vendor’s queue filled her in. He takes the regional line to Heidelberg every morning. Since the introduction of the 9-euro ticket in June, he leaves a train earlier to be sure of having a place. We often travel standing or sitting on the ground. Accessing the on-board bistro is quite a feat! », says the forties, library employee. Twenty-one million copies of this monthly card, which gives unlimited access to the entire network of public transport and regional trains, were sold in the first month.

Read also: Germany tests the monthly ticket at 9 euros for public transport

Deutsche Bahn (DB) may have added trains, but the lack of investment in recent decades is glaring. Overstressed, the system is on the verge of asphyxiation. Billboards (” a classic “, confirms a sweaty controller under his red cap), the escalators and elevators in the stations, the toilets and the coffee machines in the dining cars are often out of order. But no time for maintenance during this tense summer. Safety is the priority.

Diversions and slowdowns

After the accident of a train in Bavaria (south), at the beginning of June, which caused the death of four women and a teenager – drama undoubtedly linked to a damaged crosspiece (the concrete bars which make it possible to maintain the rail gauge) – the DB has embarked on the verification of 200,000 of them. This leads to deviations and slowdowns. Planned for a long time, the renovation works on twenty-two sections of the network (including very busy axes such as Hamburg-Berlin) are creating disruptions which have repercussions on all traffic. In June, only 60% of trains arrived on time across the Rhine. Delays of less than six minutes are not taken into account in the statistics.

We continue the road to Berlin. At Karlsruhe station, the displays work and we see that, for the next hour, only two connections are provided at the scheduled times. Two high-speed trains (ICE) are canceled, without further explanation. Travelers will have to pile into other trains, for which they will not have any reserved seats. I have never experienced a situation like this summer,” confirms Martin Burkert, vice-president of the rail transport union. He testified to having seen passengers fall from a wagon when the doors opened in the station. A DB executive, who does not give his name, speaks of “Super GAU”, an expression which usually designates nuclear disasters. He fears an accident because of the crowds on the quays.

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