According to an analysis conducted by the start-up Railwise, commissioned by the “Handelsblatt”, the punctuality of the German railway system’s long-distance transport appears to be worse than the corporation claims. The evaluation utilized data from over 180,000 recorded arrivals.
The findings revealed a significant discrepancy regarding punctuality rates. In April, Railwise measured punctuality for ICE and IC trains at only 62.4 percent, contrasting sharply with the Railway’s official figure of 64.4 percent. Furthermore, both organizations reportedly counted delays only starting from six minutes. However, if comprehensive service failures are included in the calculation, the actual punctuality rate recorded by Railwise drops even lower, to just 58 percent.
The data suggests notable regional variability. Over the past month, leading up to May 9th, punctuality was highest in Bavaria, reaching nearly 66 percent. In contrast, the most populated state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), recorded a punctuality rate for long-distance services of only 50.2 percent. In fact, eight of the ten stations with the most frequent delays are located in NRW. The station of Minden was highlighted as particularly problematic, with 61.2 percent of its long-distance trains arriving with delays exceeding six minutes.
When confronted with the raw data, a corporate spokesperson admitted the deviations between the Railwise figures and the preliminary DB monthly report for April were “not traceable”. However, she stressed that the measurements adhere to strict quality and plausibility requirements, ensuring that they realistically and demonstrably reflect the actual state of operations. She confirmed that Railwise obtains its data directly from the DB via the licensed “Timetable” interface.
