Bad service on the ICE to Vienna: on-board bistro closed!

Bad service on the ICE to Vienna: on-board bistro closed!

On the journey from Nuremberg to Vienna, passengers are currently experiencing a mixture of inconveniences and challenges. A Deutsche Bahn ICE train on this route was affected by an unexpected incident today, which significantly affected the travel experience. The onboard bistro was closed, meaning travelers could not receive food or drinks. The reason: a technical defect that was identified as “brown water” coming from the drain. This meant that the passengers only had a few sweets and croissants available, which were also used up soon after departure for Passau. Even the train attendant, who was forced to heat his own food in the microwave, was met with dissatisfied looks from passengers.

But that's only part of the story. According to Schwäbische Post, Deutsche Bahn's punctuality will have fallen to a low point in 2024. Just 62.5% of ICE and IC trains reached their destination on time. If you look back further, you can see that the last few years have not been any better: in 2023, punctuality was 64% and in 2022 it was 65.2%. The highest value was reached in 2004 at 84.3%. Looking at the numbers, it's clear that more than a third of long-distance trains were late last year - 37.5% to be precise - which is the worst record in 21 years.

Punctuality problems and their causes

The reasons for poor punctuality are varied. A large proportion of delays – an impressive 80% – are due to outdated and overloaded infrastructure. However, Deutsche Bahn has big plans: it plans to renovate 41 heavily frequented corridors by 2030, with the aim of increasing the punctuality of ICE and IC trains to 75-80% by the end of 2027. The first renovation began in 2024 between Frankfurt and Mannheim.

The situation looks much better in regional transport. Here, 90.3% of trains were on time if you look at the numbers from 2023, where the value was 91%. DB also announced that it would invest around 17 billion euros in infrastructure in 2024. During the Christmas holidays, over 80% punctuality was recorded - a small ray of hope in otherwise rather gloomy statistics.

A look at the future of railways

However, Deutsche Bahn passengers also have to prepare for further challenges. In June 2024, the punctuality rate was particularly low at 52.9% - one of the worst values ​​of the year. The causes were flooding and damage to dams, which led to further delays. Construction sites that will lead to diversions and longer travel times between Berlin and Hamburg for nine months from August are also another factor that makes travel planning more difficult.

Finally, it remains to be seen whether the announced measures will bear fruit and the railway will be able to pick up speed again in the near future. Passengers are hoping for improvement as Deutsche Bahn continues to work on its solutions. Information on train punctuality can also be found on Statista.