To reduce the disruption for passengers, Deutsche Bahn plans to carry out fewer so-called corridor renovations of individual routes each year in future. Previous experience has shown that “four corridor renovations per year (...) is too much,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla said in Berlin on Thursday. It is also a question of funding. However, according to Palla, passengers should not expect noticeable improvements in Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance punctuality figures anytime soon.
Palla said that reducing the number of corridor renovations each year would push the overall programme further into the future. “The time delay will depend on how many we then carry out per year.” The number is expected to settle at two to three renovations per year instead of the previous four.
Deutsche Bahn is currently revising its renovation strategy with the Federal Ministry of Transport. Palla intends to stick to the basic approach of closing key routes completely for several months so they can be renewed. However, the number of annual renovation projects must be adjusted to the “funding volume”, she said. The company is currently looking at “how much money is now available in the special funds for the corridor renovations”.
The concept was introduced by former Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz and former Transport Minister Volker Wissing. Originally, more than 40 corridors were supposed to be renovated by 2030. That timetable was later extended significantly. Several rail routes have already been renovated, although some projects have been completed later and at higher costs than originally planned.
According to Palla, carrying out fewer renovations each year should make the programme work better in future. There should also be greater attention to ensuring that diversion routes for rail traffic are prepared for use during the full closures. It was recently revealed that the renovation of the Hanover-Berlin route will lead to significantly greater disruption for passengers during the construction period because a parallel route is not yet ready.
Palla rejects criticism that disruptions remain frequent even on routes that have already been renovated, such as the Hamburg-Berlin route. She said this should be addressed through different expectations about what the railway can deliver. “It is also about the question of what performance promise do we want to make very specifically?” the Deutsche Bahn CEO said. “To what extent do we want to reduce disruptions on the route once it has been renovated? (...) What degree of freedom from construction work can we then guarantee?”
The group CEO also tempered expectations regarding Deutsche Bahn’s continued poor punctuality figures. The rail network is “too old, too prone to disruptions and in many places also too full”, she said. “That is why we are renewing more than ever before, but of course that also causes additional restrictions on operations.”
Construction activity is likely to increase further in the coming years. “And all of this simply does not allow for major leaps in punctuality.” Most recently, almost every second Deutsche Bahn long-distance train was delayed. The punctuality rate improved slightly in August, according to preliminary data, rising from 52.6 to 54.2 percent. However, Palla also pointed to punctuality in regional rail services, which generally approaches 90 percent.
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