The railways' administrator, Lutz, vows significant enhancements.
In the battle against Deutsche Bahn's infamous unreliability, CEO Richard Lutz has vowed to deliver substantial enhancements starting from next year. In the long run, there's a goal to boost punctuality to a staggering 80% by 2027. Regrettably, travelers need to brace themselves for extended wait times until then.
Lutz revealed that his team would be addressing the issues "much sooner and much more drastically, fundamentally, and disruptively." He made these remarks in response to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine". Lutz hinted at noticeable improvements coming up in 2022.
However, passengers are still advised to take the train schedules with a grain of salt for the foreseeable future. The executive board of Deutsche Bahn unveiled a restructuring plan following demands from Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing. The new plan targets an increase in punctuality rates to 75-80% in long-distance services by 2027. This year, for instance, only around 61% of trains have managed to arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time, on average.
To improve punctuality, Lutz highlighted the need to thin out timetables on highly congested network channels. He explained that doing so would alleviate pressure off the entire system, particularly in "nodes" and overburdened tracks. However, cooperation with the Federal Network Agency would be required to reallocate track slots.
Generally speaking, Lutz emphasized the importance of modernizing the antiquated rail infrastructure. He acknowledged that construction sites tend to pose operational challenges, which oftentimes do not make it into the timetable.
By 2027, the plan is to make the timetable more dependable. "With the novel, synchronized construction system, which we'll implement progressively in the coming years, construction sites will then be integrated into the timetable," said Lutz. Federal Transport Minister Wissing had also pushed for increased profitability within the Bahn group, such as through administrative personnel savings. The restructuring strategy accordingly calls for job cuts by 2027 – "primarily" in administration, sales, and indirect operational functions.
Lutz mentioned his intentions to collaborate with the Federal Network Agency to reallocate track slots, aiming to improve punctuality by thinning out timetables on German Railways' highly congested network channels. The new CEO of German Railways, Lutz, expressed hopes that by 2027, German Railways, or Deutsche Bahn, would significantly enhance its punctuality, aiming for a staggering 80% rate, as per the long-term goal.
