German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said on Thursday it would improve train punctuality and reliability in the coming six months, after just 62.7% of long-distance trains reached their destination without major delay in the first half of 2024.
Train delays were a major bugbear among football fans visiting Germany as it hosted the Euro 2024 football tournament, prompting widespread commentary on the apparent myth of Germany as a modern and efficent country.
“We are anticipating an improvement in punctuality in the second half of the year,” Deutsche Bahn chief executive Richard Lutz said during Thursday’s presentation of the company’s half-year report in Berlin.
By the end of the year, the aim is for 63% to 67% of long-distance trains to run without major delays.
Just 52.9% of trains arrived on time in the first half of the year, with June being a particularly bad month, Deutsche Bahn said. Trains are considered delayed if they reach their destination at least 6 minutes later than scheduled.
Rail travel across Germany has been hampered by industrial strikes, poor infrastructure and an unexpected number of extreme weather events, according to the state-owned company.
“Taken together, these alone have cost us around 7 percentage points in punctuality,” Lutz said.
Rail problems also led to a notable decline in passenger numbers in the first half of the year. The company said that 64.2 million passengers took long-distance trains in this period, 6% less than the same period last year.
To improve train punctuality in the short term, Deutsche Bahn said it plans to have more vehicles on standby to respond to disruptions and outages.
High-speed ICE 4 trains, which make up a large part of the long-distance fleet, are to be prioritized in future for short-term maintenance work so they can quickly return to service.