To add context for anyone who doesn’t know: DB is notorious for being incredibly delayed. Lots of cancellations, 30-40 minutes late is no rarity, and if you have a connection to catch I can guarantee you that it’ll be the ONE train running on time.
So you are right to be concerned, but only because you’ll never get to start your journey in the first place.
Honestly as an American, when I visited Germany I bought a deutschland ticket and used regional transit to travel most of the country. I used the DB navigator app.
It was hands down the best travel of my life. Just hop on a train and go anywhere. The delays were usually well recorded in the app and I could usually just reroute.
I was traveling for leisure though so waiting an extra 10 minutes was not a big deal, but all the city transit and local trains seemed to be mostly on time. Regional were the only ones I encountered with delays.
They do this in Norway too… they say that 70 % of trains are “on time”, but don’t mention that only 80 % of trains leave the station at all in the first place, and that the 70 % on time disregards those.
Note: I’m not quite sure about the numbers, the concept is the point.
I travelled with DB to enjoy the 2022 9-€ Ticket. The cross-border train ČD drove into Germany got stopped in the first city and got cancelled because it “didn’t meet standards”. I mean, it was missing a car, there was no AC, it was super loud and crowded, but it was a train and went on time. DB’s replacement was literally nothing so I was stuck waiting in Schwandorf for an hour. This happens dozens of times every year.
Meanwhile, my trip last year was an orderly experience, probably because I went through former East Germany via Dresden instead. Communists did a lot of bad shit but they understood the power of trains (and streetcars).
You have all reason to be afraid of traveling with DB. Especially with the ICE. However, this is unrelated to the american ICE.
Orly?
To add context for anyone who doesn’t know: DB is notorious for being incredibly delayed. Lots of cancellations, 30-40 minutes late is no rarity, and if you have a connection to catch I can guarantee you that it’ll be the ONE train running on time.
So you are right to be concerned, but only because you’ll never get to start your journey in the first place.
Honestly as an American, when I visited Germany I bought a deutschland ticket and used regional transit to travel most of the country. I used the DB navigator app.
It was hands down the best travel of my life. Just hop on a train and go anywhere. The delays were usually well recorded in the app and I could usually just reroute.
I was traveling for leisure though so waiting an extra 10 minutes was not a big deal, but all the city transit and local trains seemed to be mostly on time. Regional were the only ones I encountered with delays.
Complaining about DB is a German national pastime.
9 in 10 regional trains are „on time“. Only 2 in 3 long distance trains are „on time“.
„On time“ is 5 minute delay or less. Cancellations are excluded from the statistic.
haha what absolute bullshit, what the hell?
They do this in Norway too… they say that 70 % of trains are “on time”, but don’t mention that only 80 % of trains leave the station at all in the first place, and that the 70 % on time disregards those.
Note: I’m not quite sure about the numbers, the concept is the point.
deleted by creator
I travelled with DB to enjoy the 2022 9-€ Ticket. The cross-border train ČD drove into Germany got stopped in the first city and got cancelled because it “didn’t meet standards”. I mean, it was missing a car, there was no AC, it was super loud and crowded, but it was a train and went on time. DB’s replacement was literally nothing so I was stuck waiting in Schwandorf for an hour. This happens dozens of times every year.
Meanwhile, my trip last year was an orderly experience, probably because I went through former East Germany via Dresden instead. Communists did a lot of bad shit but they understood the power of trains (and streetcars).
communists do bad things in the process of doing good things
capitalists do good things in the process of doing bad things