Traffic light coalition disagrees about better compensation for train delays

Standstill at Stuttgart main station

The numerous construction sites are the main problem of the railway, as the group admits. As a result, traffic will be slowed down while demand is high.

(Photo: IMAGO/Arnulf Hettrich)

Berlin A debate has broken out in the traffic light coalition about Deutsche Bahn’s compensation rules. Consumer advocates want to oblige Deutsche Bahn to pay compensation for a train delay of 30 minutes or more. The FDP advocates earlier compensation, while the SPD and the Greens reject it.

The parliamentary managing director of the Liberals in the Bundestag, Torsten Herbst, told the Handelsblatt: “If we want to get more people excited about traveling by train, we need better and simpler compensation regulations.”

A partial fare refund from a delay of 30 minutes would be an “important financial incentive for Deutsche Bahn to finally become more punctual and reliable in long-distance transport,” said Herbst and warned: “If Deutsche Bahn does not deliver here itself, politicians must help.”

The SPD transport politician Detlef Müller, on the other hand, wants to start with the bottlenecks in the rail network in order to curb “the annoying delays”. The “Rail Acceleration Commission” agreed in the coalition agreement will present results “promptly”, said Müller. “We will tackle measures to increase the efficiency of rail transport with high pressure.”

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The long-distance trains of Deutsche Bahn have recently been more reliable than in the months before – but many are still too late. According to company information, almost 63 percent reached their goal in September without any major delay. That was six percentage points more than in August. At the beginning of the year, Bahn boss Richard Lutz promised a punctuality target of 80 percent, but dropped this plan after a few weeks.

train delays

63

percent

of long-distance trains reached their destination in September without any major delay, according to Deutsche Bahn.

Against this background, the Federal Consumer Association (VZBV) called for more customer-friendly compensation rules. “If delays are increasing now, then the train should pay compensation from a delay of 30 minutes, not just from an hour,” said VZBV boss Ramona Pop. “That would also be an incentive for the train to be more punctual.”

CSU politicians: Compensation must be automatic

Up to now, a quarter of the fare has been refunded for a delay of one hour or more. From two hours it is half the fare. Passengers can apply for reimbursement using a paper form, the Bahn website or the DB Navigator app. The regulations are based on an EU regulation.

From the point of view of the consumer center, the member states have some leeway when it comes to compensation. “Although the ordinance will regulate many aspects throughout Europe from 2023, there is the possibility of tightening up nationally for some points,” explained the VZBV on request.

>> Read also: The three most important reasons why Deutsche Bahn is so unpunctual

The CSU consumer politician Volker Ullrich welcomed the move. Ullrich also demanded that compensation be paid automatically. “Train passengers must be better off in the event of delays,” he said. Therefore, the compensation for everyone who paid by card must be automatic.

Train passengers must be better off in the event of delays. CSU consumer politician Volker Ullrich

The Greens transport politician Matthias Gastel currently sees no reason to change the compensation procedure of the railways. The high rate of unpunctual trains is “a first-rate nuisance for passengers,” he said. “However, changing the compensation scheme would not help, but would lead to higher ticket prices due to the higher costs for the transport companies.”

Many poorly coordinated construction sites on the network

Like Müller, Gastel also wants to take a closer look at the causes of the delays, such as the many poorly coordinated construction sites in the network and the increasingly congested route network.

In order to achieve improvements, the traffic light increases the investment funds for infrastructure. “In this way we are gradually increasing the capacity in the network and stabilizing the timetables,” said Gastel.

In fact, the numerous construction sites are the main problem for the railways, as the group itself admits. As a result, traffic will be slowed down while demand is high.

In the dry summer months in particular, numerous goods transports were also shifted from ship to rail. Due to the low water, ships could not navigate on many sections of the Rhine.

Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing is pushing for a coordinated renovation and digitization of the rail network in order to achieve more reliability for passengers and goods transport. “I don’t want to hear the announcement that the reason for the delay is a disruption in operations,” said the FDP politician recently.

Allegedly, 50 percent of all delays were due to this. However, adequately trained personnel and operational vehicles would have to be available in order to be able to drive the intended traffic.

More: Complaints about the railway are increasing drastically

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