Untimely trains

Foreigners visiting Germany on short trips often think the national rail system is perfectly coordinated, with trains entering and leaving stations like clockwork. But frequent travelers know better: Deutsche Bahn has its fair share of delays.

Now the state-owned company is hoping to polish up its image by publishing monthly punctuality statistics on the Internet starting in September. Trains in Germany count as delayed if they are more than five minutes behind schedule. It's a lenient measure given that the Swiss regard two minutes as delayed, while the Japanese tolerate only one minute.

A study of 20 German railway stations published by the consumer advocacy group Stiftung Warentest in February found that only 32 percent of long-distance trains arrived on time. To make matters worse, three out of four high-speed ICE trains were delayed.

Until now Deutsche Bahn has only provided yearly averages of punctuality statistics, but says its monthly reporting system will increase transparency and make public perceptions of its services more accurate.

"We want to be measured based on our actual performance, openly, honestly and transparently," CEO Rüdiger Grube told reporters last week. "We will be self-critical and objective in discussing the punctuality figures."

Domestic criticism

The company has faced many public relations problems over the past 12 months: violent protests surrounding its construction of a new rail station in Stuttgart; a number of passenger hospitalizations after air conditioners failed during a summer heat wave; and an employee spying scandal.

At the same time, however, Deutsche Bahn has aggressively expanded its logistics operations abroad.

Matthias Oomen, of the Berlin-based consumer protection organization Pro Bahn, said he welcomes the transparency which "unfortunately didn't exist in the past."

"We know that among travel options Deutsche Bahn is a very punctual option compared to cars, which are subject to traffic jams, and airlines, which can be highly delayed," he told Deutsche Welle. "This will be a clear signal to the German public that it's better to travel by rail than turning to other options."

Oomen added that 5-minute rule for counting trains as delayed could be tightened.

"In principle this is a good thing," he said. "We still need to talk about the details. It should have happened a long time ago."

Deutsche Bahn declined to comment on the punctuality of its trains when contacted by Deutsche Welle.

Author: Gerhard Schneibel
Editor: Sam Edmonds