Germany’s national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, continues to struggle with reliability problems, but punctuality in long-distance services improved significantly toward the end of the year. In December, 61.7% of long-distance trains arrived with less than six minutes’ delay, the company said on Sunday. This marked the best monthly result since May.
In November, the punctuality rate had stood at 54.5% , following a low point of 51.5% in October. On an annual average, punctuality in long-distance services reached 60.1%, representing another decline compared with the previous year, when 62.5% of trains arrived on time. Even so, the yearly figure was slightly better than expected. Deutsche Bahn’s new chief executive, Evelyn Palla, had previously anticipated a result below 60%.
Passenger punctuality, which measures whether travelers arrive at their booked destination station on time, rose sharply in December to 68.7%, up from 61.9% in November. Passengers are considered punctual if they arrive with less than 15 minutes’ delay. Over the full year, however, passenger punctuality fell from 67.4% to 65.5% compared with the year before.
The improvement in December may partly be linked to the period around the Christmas holidays. During the peak travel season, Deutsche Bahn operated more trains while reducing construction work, leading to a noticeable rise in punctuality over the holidays.
In regional transport, punctuality in December stood at 88.4%. Over the full year, 88.7% of regional trains arrived on time, down from 90.3% the previous year. Deutsche Bahn remains deep in crisis, with large parts of its infrastructure described as outdated and prone to disruptions, particularly affecting long-distance services. The company said a turnaround is expected through €23 billion in federal investments planned for 2026, along with a reform course initiated by chief executive Palla.
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