Bad service in ICE to Vienna: Bord-Bistro closed!

Bad service in ICE to Vienna: Bord-Bistro closed!

On the trip from Nuremberg to Vienna, passengers are currently experiencing a mixture of inconvenience and challenges. An ICE of Deutsche Bahn on this route was now affected by an unexpected incident that significantly impaired the travel experience. The on-board bistro was closed, which means that travelers could not receive any food and no drinks. The reason: a technical defect that was identified as "brown water" from the drain. Thus, the passengers were only available a few sweets and croissants, which were also used up to Passau soon after departure. Even the train attendant who was forced to warm up his own meal in the microwave met with dissatisfied looks of the travelers.

But that's just a part of the story. According to Schwäbische Post, the punctuality of Deutsche Bahn in 2024 has dropped at a low point. Just 62.5 % of ICE and IC trains reached their destination on time. If you look back further, it can be seen that the past few years have also been better: in 2023, punctuality was 64 % and in 2022 65.2 %. The highest value in 2004 was reached at 84.3 %. When you look at the numbers, it becomes clear that more than a third of the long -distance trains last year - more precisely - 37.5 % - what has been the worst record in 21 years.

punctuality problems and their causes

The reasons for the poor punctuality are diverse. A large part of the delays - impressive 80 % - goes back to the outdated and overloaded infrastructure. However, Deutsche Bahn has a big priority: by 2030, the renovation of 41 strongly frequented corridors is plans to increase 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 traffic. Here, 90.3 % of the trains were on time when you look at the figures from 2023, where the value was 91 %. The DB also announced that it would invest around 17 billion euros in the infrastructure in 2024. During the Christmas holidays you could see over 80 % punctuality - a little ray of hope in an otherwise more cloudy statistics.

an outlook on the future of the railway

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

Finally, it remains to be seen whether the announced measures are pondered and the railway can resume speed again in the near future. Passengers hope for improvement, while Deutsche Bahn continues to work on its solutions. Information on the punctuality of the trains can also be found on Statista.