Punctuality on Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance trains hit a new low in September, with only 55.3 percent of trains arriving less than six minutes late, the company reported Thursday. This marks the worst performance since June 2024. The company added that it now appears unlikely that its target for 2025, maintaining punctuality between 65 and 70 percent, will be met.
Punctuality on long-distance services has declined significantly this year. Last year, the rate had fallen to 62.5 percent. In the first half of 2025, 63.4 percent of trains were on time, but by summer the punctuality rate had steadily decreased month by month, remaining below 60 percent since June.
Regional train services also saw a drop in punctuality in September, falling from 89.2 percent in August to 87.2 percent. Deutsche Bahn attributed the decline to “continued high construction activity,” which affected operations in September, as well as “vandalism and suspected acts of sabotage.”
Last week, train services were disrupted on the heavily trafficked route between Cologne and Düsseldorf due to destroyed cables, with state security authorities investigating. About a week earlier, a fire in a Deutsche Bahn control box near Hanover severely impacted traffic towards Berlin. Police have classified the incident as arson.
Former Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz had maintained confidence in meeting the annual punctuality target based on the half-year results. Lutz has since been dismissed, and Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) has also withdrawn the mid-term punctuality targets, stating they “are not achievable.” According to Schnieder’s Bahn strategy, at least 70 percent of long-distance trains are not expected to run on time again until 2029.
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