In January only 52.1 % of all Deutsche Bahn long‑distance trains reached their destination on time, according to internal data that the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” has reported.
Punctuality fell sharply after the winter storm ”Elli”: on 10 January just 41.3 % of the trains were on schedule, on 11 January only 40.3 %, and the percentage hit a provisional trough of 36.2 % on 12 January. The worst dip came on 26 January, when merely 28.3 % of ICEs and ICs ran according to the timetable. New chief Evelyn Palla aims for 60 % punctuality for the whole of 2026.
“The month of January was the snowiest that parts of Germany have seen in more than 15 years” said a DB spokesperson to the “SZ”. Because of storm ”Elli”, about 3,000 km of track in northern Germany were at times impassable, and roughly 5,000 staff were deployed daily to clear frost‑blocked switches. In October 2025 the punctuality rate fell to 51.5 %, setting a new historical low.
