A working group established by the Federal Ministry of Transport has presented a package of measures aimed at delivering short-term improvements to punctuality on Germany's rail network. Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) praised the package, presented on Thursday, as a joint effort drawing on the "concentrated expertise of the sector." Transport associations broadly welcomed the proposals but also cautioned that the measures must not lead to a reduction in services.
The "Taskforce for a Reliable Railway", whose members include representatives from the federal government, state governments, regulatory authorities, Deutsche Bahn, other rail operators, industry associations, and trade unions, submitted its final report containing a total of 22 measures.
Among the key proposals is the introduction of so-called joker platforms: certain station platforms would be kept free during normal operations, allowing rail operators to respond more flexibly when disruptions occur.
The plan also proposes systematically bringing forward the scheduled departure time shown to passengers, by around one minute compared to the operationally planned departure, in order to allow more time for train dispatch procedures. More broadly, the taskforce recommends building larger buffers into timetables going forward. A "greater time gap between two train journeys" would prevent minor delays from cascading and affecting the punctuality of subsequent services.
The taskforce also addressed disruptions caused by people and animals on the tracks, which frequently trigger full line closures. Under the new approach, trains would wherever possible continue running at reduced speed under visual observation, rather than bringing services to a complete halt.
Improvements to passenger communication are also part of the package. This includes deploying more staff on platforms to ensure travellers are waiting at the correct platform and in the right position along the train, measures designed to speed up boarding and alighting and prevent departure delays.
Transport Minister Schnieder described the package as "an important milestone on the agenda for satisfied customers on the rail network." Ingo Wortmann, President of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), welcomed the fact that "the Federal Transport Ministry is acknowledging the pressure to act on reliability and punctuality in rail transport." He said the measures presented were "on the whole comprehensible."
The ecological transport club VCD called above all for swift implementation. "Plans to increase rail capacity on overloaded lines, the so-called capacity enhancement plans, have been agreed for a long time now, precisely to prevent overloading from becoming a delay trap," said VCD chairwoman Christiane Rohleder. "So far, however, these measures exist only on paper."
Rohleder was unequivocal on one point: "Reducing the number of train services would be the wrong approach. That would make the situation worse for passengers without improving punctuality. On the contrary: fuller trains lead to additional delays at stations." VDV chief Wortmann similarly warned against any steps that would reduce capacity, saying this should "only ever be considered as a temporary last resort."
Sharp criticism came from Matthias Gastel, the Greens' rail policy spokesperson in the Bundestag. "Transport Minister Schnieder is managing powerlessness when it comes to rail," he said. "The report of the Taskforce for Satisfied Customers is largely a mix of review mandates, unfunded promises, and a lot of old plans."
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