Deutsche Bahn: Every second train was late in October – a negative record.

Berlin. Deutsche Bahn's long-distance trains were particularly unreliable last month. Only 51.5 percent of them arrived at their destinations without major delays, as reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The railway company confirmed the figures upon request. It is unknown when the last time the railway experienced such poor punctuality in a single month was recorded. This figure falls below the previous presumed record low of 52.0 percent, set in November 2023.

The main reason for the numerous delays in October was once again the many construction sites resulting from the dilapidated infrastructure. According to the report, technical malfunctions in overhead lines and switches, as well as severe weather events, also contributed to the delays.

A train is only considered delayed by the railway company if it is delayed by six minutes or more. Train cancellations are not included in this calculation. However, these are factored into the so-called passenger punctuality rate. This rate measures the percentage of passengers who arrived at their destination with a maximum delay of 14 minutes and 59 seconds within a given month. In September, this rate was 61.9 percent. No current figures for October were available initially.

RND/dpa