Railway Chatter

There's a fair amount of chatter this morning over 'promises' made by the German Bahn folks (the railway services),  and their CEO (Richard Lutz).

First, there's a promise that by the end of 2021 (2.5 years away), there's going to be a train leaving Berlin for Hamburg and Hamburg for Berlin, every thirty minutes (at least in the main hours of the day).  This ICE train (the high-speed, limited-stop effort is supposed to help handle the almost 17,000 Germans who make the 95 minute ride daily.  On the books, it's considered the most traveled route in Germany.

Second, more seating is arriving shortly.  the Bahn hints that 20-percent more seats will be in place within the next three years.  More cars?  Not exactly.  What they've been doing over the past decade is buying double-decker cars, and I would anticipate a lot more double-deckers being delivered.  The negative?  If you've ridden on these vehicles....it requires a stairway climb, and the ceilings are around 6 ft 8 inches.  It is true....you can cram a lot more people onto a standard car. 

Third, there's this hinted 'new' designed planning system which the Bahn folks say will plan out transfer routes better.  This means.....you made this big trip from Berlin to Frankfurt, and 12 minutes after that arrival.....your local connection to some 'shadow' community in Frankfurt will be leaving.  This benefit (if the system works) will mean that people will start to work from a further distance (maybe up to 100 km away from their job) and have some confidence that a 85-minute journey today will be trimmed down to 70-minutes in the future (less waiting).  I have my doubts on this promise but it's worth the effort. 

Fourth promise?  The Bahn says long-distance tickets will lessen in cost.  They won't say how much.  Part of this is a suggestion of lowering the tax rates that the government sets upon tickets (currently set at 19-percent, and the Bahn wants it at 7-percent).  My guess is that the hint will merely turn into a 8-percent cut on long-distance rates, and mostly for Monday through Friday travels.  I have serious doubts that the government will allow tax rates to float down to 7-percent on tickets.

Fifth promise?  It's not really a promise....but more of a joke.  There is this suggestion that they will double the number of passengers by 2030 (eleven years away).  This topic is one that both the CDU and SPD (the coalition partners) shovel out in the public the most. 

My personal view (having ridden the Bahn a good bit).....during rush-hours, it's now pushed to the maximum extent possible.  Trying to suggest that you will double that load from Wiesbaden to Frankfurt, or Mainz to Darmstadt....is mostly a silly fantasy.  The stations....the escalators....the buses and bus-routes at the end-position....the weather chaos (both in hot summer periods and winter snow)....all add up and it's a joke to suggest doubling will occur. 

To make all of these promises work?  Well.....the massive hint-card laid out there is that the federal government will have to lay down a lot of infrastructure money (billions per year) to bring change.

Right now, it's around 1.6 billion Euro that the government puts into the pot on top of the ticket-money that the Bahn takes in.  The suggestion is that it has to go up to 2-billion Euro a year, and by 2023 to around 3-billion Euro. 

Presently, if you walk around and bring up the train travel subject....folks that have to travel daily aren't that hyped up or enthusiastic about service.  The lateness factor, cancellations, crowded trains, and punctual 'fake' promises are dragging people to a negative feeling over the Bahn.  They aren't turned off enough to just give up and drive their car (knowing the traffic chaos that already exists).....but it's highly unlikely to improve or get better.