Rail can not handle delays – economy

• For years, the railroad failed because of its self-imposed goal that at least 80% of all trains run reasonably on schedule. This will probably happen again in 2018.
• The railway quotes the growing number of pbadengers as one of the reasons.

Punctuality remains the big problem. Year after year, the railways give their intercity service the goal that at least 80% of all trains run on a fixed schedule or not. Year after year, he fails. It also seems to be back in 2018, according to figures for the first half of 2018, presented by the executive board.

Thus, in the first half of 2018, 77.4% of long-distance trains were delivered on time. This means that all trains that deviate from the schedule for up to 5 minutes and 59 seconds. The value does not meet expectations, said CEO Richard Lutz.

In the first half of last year, another 81 percent of trains drove in time. But even in 2017, it was finally not enough to achieve the goal that we had set: the breakdowns and inclement weather pushed the annual value to 78.5%. This year, Deutsche Bahn invests 100 million euros only in punctuality. There is a new "punctuality of the center of situation", with great disturbances one wants to become "more robust and resistant", so Lutz. It is expected that a turnaround, but more than 80 percent will not succeed.

Increased capacity constraints

Delays are likely to be related to the increase in the number of pbadengers, the year 2018 continues to increase. About 71 million people traveled during the first half of the year with long distance trains from Deutsche Bahn; in the first half of 2017, it was 68.3. An increase of 3.8 percentage points. By the end of last year, the railway had transported 142 million people. If it were to be surpbaded in 2018, it would be the fourth year in a row with a new high. "People are more mobile than ever," said Lutz. But more travelers also mean more traffic, about punctuality, "than the existing infrastructure also has its limitations."

Especially in the big hubs, the rail network is busy. "Hamburg and Frankfurt are causing us more and more problems," said Ronald Pofalla, Infrastructure Manager. In addition, five sections of the road identified as having "capacity constraints" were identified. "Cologne-Dortmund is the closest place we have in Germany." There was now a used team that controlled the trains separately. He did not want to mention the other four sections

With the increase in the number of pbadengers, Deutsche Bahn also announced a further increase in its revenues. In the first half, sales amounted to 21.5 billion euros, up 2.3 percentage points from the same period of the previous year. "And we are also expecting an increase of this magnitude for the whole year," explains Lutz. Profit dropped and was with 974 million euros in the first half of the year, more than 17 percent below the level of last year. For the whole year, you are forecasting a profit of 2.1 billion euros – in 2.2 billion in 2017.

Railway debts have increased. While at the end of 2017, it was still 18.6 billion euros, the company is now in debt with 19.7 billion euros. However, it was to be expected since the railway is investing a lot of money in new trains like ICE 4 and its own infrastructure

. Many investments will help in the future to meet more frequently the schedule of long-distance trips. "We are building at record levels and coordinating up to 800 construction sites a day," said Mr. Lutz. Upward trend. "The basic dilemma that more and more trains are driving over an increasingly overwhelming network of construction measures will therefore accompany us for punctuality for years."