German Rail in decline ?

[stuu]

DB have cancelled my reservation from Vienna-Brussels for the third time today. The train from Vienna has been retimed to leave 30 minutes earlier... I took the advice given here previously and called DB who did confirm that the reservation would still be there as the train number hasn't changed. But I find it pretty poor that they send a message saying the reservation has been cancelled when it hasn't. Why can't they just say the times have changed? I would understand if it was a massive change but it isn't

 

[rvdborgt]

long story short train was delayed over 3 hours ( ran out of beer and food too). Am I entitled to a partial refund on a Eurail Pass or a voucher? I had the conductor stamp my pass to show the delay time, thanks

You can claim compensation here:

Delay Compensation

www.eurail.com

 

[SirAlf]

On my way back to Blighty for a few days after 2 weeks in Germany watching Euro2024 in most of the host cities. I used ICE trains to travel between the cities on the special Euro football prices - partly because the blurb for the tournament stressed using public transport

Every single ICE train I was booked on was late. 45 minutes was the norm, I think 2 hours was the worst. German efficiency? Pretty much every football fan I spoke to was scathing about the trains

And I agree with the comments in another thread about Frankfurt Hbf, some seriously dodgy characters around and drug dealing was obvious

 

[Carlisle]

And I agree with the comments in another thread about Frankfurt Hbf, some seriously dodgy characters around and drug dealing was obvious

Hard to think of any major city railway terminal in a democracy that doesn’t attract its share of Beggars, Vagrants Alcoholics & Drug Dealers .

 

[Goldfish62]

And I agree with the comments in another thread about Frankfurt Hbf, some seriously dodgy characters around and drug dealing was obvious

Hamburg Hbf always seems particularly bad for that as well.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Hard to think of any major city railway terminal in a democracy that doesn’t attract its share of Beggars, Vagrants Alcoholics & Drug Dealers .

I don't think I've ever seen a beggar or vagrant actually inside Euston station, aside from using the toilets since they became free. The security staff do seem to be quite good at removing them quickly, unlike at German major stations.

I'm not sure, unless I saw a deal taking place, how I'd know if a drug dealer was there or not.

 

[renegademaster]

Hard to think of any major city railway terminal in a democracy that doesn’t attract its share of Beggars, Vagrants Alcoholics & Drug Dealers .

You got plenty of beggars but pickpocketing seems to be much less a thing

 

[dutchflyer]

Meanwhile-mostly due to a lot of international bad press about the football specials lately- the matter has reached parliament and the TV-news (this morning on the MoMa=Morning Magazine) so the parties can ventilate their usual solutions without knowing much specifics=mostly ´more privatisation´ vs ´more money/investment from the govmt and higher wages´.
It seems last month on ICE on time details have gone down to below 60%.
But-as I left on my new DE-Ticket Giessen thir morning (north of FRA)-and on RE-trains, it has all gone within 5 mins margin and now sit on NS from Venlo on my way home. Quite different from the again atrocious way it went last sunday to reach that place-arr 2 hrs later. Mishaps in both NL and DE

 

[miami]

The solution to all problems with rail is to nationalise it, have you not listened to basically any member of the public or parliament (of all colours) over the last 20 years?

 

[Goldfish62]

The solution to all problems with rail is to nationalise it, have you not listened to basically any member of the public or parliament (of all colours) over the last 20 years?

Eh?

 

[Norm_D_Ploom]

Just got back, most of my experience was VRR/ VRS and generally OK. The odd delay but nothing special.

Can't comment on ICE / IC

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Apparently some problems getting the Dutch team from Wolfsburg to Dortmund by train today for the match against England tomorrow.
See 1657 in this link:

Euro 2024: semis arrive with Spain v France, plus England and Netherlands news – as it happened

We were following all the latest from Germany as the semi-finals began

www.theguardian.com

Statement from the Dutch football federation (KNVB) before their match with England:
The Netherlands team will not arrive in Dortmund until tonight.
Due to a blockage on the track the scheduled train service between Wolfsburg and Dortmund has been cancelled.
The team will now fly to Dortmund tonight at 8.20 pm.

Upsetting the Euros is a serious offence...
Apart from general delays, the DB web site only mentions fire brigade activity on the line in Berlin.

 

[Bungle965]

Apparently some problems getting the Dutch team from Wolfsburg to Dortmund by train today for the match against England tomorrow.
See 1657 in this link:

Euro 2024: semis arrive with Spain v France, plus England and Netherlands news – as it happened

We were following all the latest from Germany as the semi-finals began

www.theguardian.com

Upsetting the Euros is a serious offence...
Apart from general delays, the DB web site only mentions fire brigade activity on the line in Berlin.

Is this a new tactic from Gareth Southgate?!

 

[Norm_D_Ploom]

Is this a new tactic from Gareth Southgate?!

It might be his 1st !

Serious post now.

One thing that the Germans have been ( with the odd exception) excellent at is getting people to and from the stadiums by a variety of means and ensuring onward connections from the main Hbf to the local surroundings.

I dread to think how we will cope in the UK in 2028.

 

[Richard Scott]

It might be his 1st !

Serious post now.

One thing that the Germans have been ( with the odd exception) excellent at is getting people to and from the stadiums by a variety of means and ensuring onward connections from the main Hbf to the local surroundings.

I dread to think how we will cope in the UK in 2028.

We coped in 2012, my worry will be Paris with Olympics.

 

[duesselmartin]

It might be his 1st !

Serious post now.

One thing that the Germans have been ( with the odd exception) excellent at is getting people to and from the stadiums by a variety of means and ensuring onward connections from the main Hbf to the local surroundings.

I dread to think how we will cope in the UK in 2028.

I think greater London can handle mass events, as to other cities /regions, the UK would presumable not rely on rail alone as Germany did. Flix (Germany's sole reveant public coach operator) played an insignifcant role at the Euros and even in normal times only has a small market share. Same with internal flights. For long distance public transport Germany is pretty much a railway land.

 

[Goldfish62]

We coped in 2012, my worry will be Paris with Olympics.

Yes, the naysayers said 2012 would be a disaster, yet it was anything but. I played a very small part in it and I'm so proud of what we did.

The key is putting the right people in charge and giving them a free hand.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I dread to think how we will cope in the UK in 2028.

We’ll cope well enough, the grounds being used are well used to dispersing big crowds on a regular basis.

 

[The exile]

We’ll cope well enough, the grounds being used are well used to dispersing big crowds on a regular basis.

And those big crowds are likely to be staying fairly locally- rather than away supporters needing to get back from (eg) Brighton to Merseyside. Evening matches in cities with large stadia but not much accommodation will pose the biggest problem.

 

[Norm_D_Ploom]

We coped in 2012, my worry will be Paris with Olympics.

I wish I had your confidence

 

[Richard Scott]

I wish I had your confidence

Surely confidence is in something in the future not the past?

 

[Goldfish62]

Surely confidence is in something in the future not the past?

Indeed, especially as 2012 went so well anyway!

 

[signed]

We coped in 2012, my worry will be Paris with Olympics.

The mainline will probably cope as everything (apart from TER) is reservation-only, the metro should cope apart from the massive overcrowding (that we already have on Line 13 (serving St Denis and other big venues)).

The main issue will be, with the authority pushing it to travellers for the Games, will the RER (A and especially B, C/D/E should be fine), I see that being the pure mayhem (it already is, so it can only be worse).

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

The mainline will probably cope as everything (apart from TER) is reservation-only

Many TER are reservation-only as well

 

[rvdborgt]

Many TER are reservation-only as well

Only Paris-Normandy, Paris-Strasbourg and Paris-Mulhouse, and only for journeys from/to Paris.

 

[duesselmartin]

The mainline will probably cope as everything (apart from TER) is reservation-only, the metro should cope apart from the massive overcrowding (that we already have on Line 13 (serving St Denis and other big venues)).

The main issue will be, with the authority pushing it to travellers for the Games, will the RER (A and especially B, C/D/E should be fine), I see that being the pure mayhem (it already is, so it can only be worse).

but surely additional capacity is needed? SNCB plans extra services from Bruxelles to Paris.

but we are way OT here.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Evening matches in cities with large stadia but not much accommodation will pose the biggest problem.

The host cities for Euro 2028 are Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Cardiff, and Dublin. Belfast was meant to be a host city but it is highly unlikely that they will be able to redevelop Casement Park in time.

They're all big cities with lots of hotel capacity. And they're all a little bit more spread out too. The biggest issue in Germany has been having four host cities all right next to each other in North Rhine-Westphalia, which has really put pressure on accommodation. In turn that meant people were having to travel further and further to get hotels. Gelsenkirchen in particular couldn't cope.

 

[duesselmartin]

one does wonder why they did not learn from 2006 when Gelsenkirchen also did not cope. It has not got the infrastructure (hotels, bars ect). Transport was badly organised. One should have put on coaches towards Essen, Dortmund and Düsseldorf at the end of the match to get people away in addition to trains.
The only good thing in Gelsenkirchen is the stadium but other decent stadia in good locations come to mind.

As to close proximity, I see that as an advantage. It means you can be close to the matches without flying or long rail journeys. That will be impossible at the World Cup and not that easy at the Euros (barr Manchester and B'ham).

 

[duesselmartin]

it is not just the oldest but also with relative poor services per capita.
With trains being ordered by the regions, the poorer loose out. Only a few years ago an urban line closed for passenger services (Duisburg Hbf to DU Entenfang) and another (Duisburg Ruhrort - Oberhausen) is a likely candidate.
The S-Bahn services are often only every 30 minutes (20 minutes previously). Stations tend to be is a dismal condidtion.

 

[The exile]

it is not just the oldest but also with relative poor services per capita.
With trains being ordered by the regions, the poorer loose out. Only a few years ago an urban line closed for passenger services (Duisburg Hbf to DU Entenfang) and another (Duisburg Ruhrort - Oberhausen) is a likely candidate.
The S-Bahn services are often only every 30 minutes (20 minutes previously). Stations tend to be is a dismal condidtion.

To be fair, the Entenfang shuttle didn’t exactly serve much population and the Ruhrort line’s traffic will have been hit hard by changing employment patterns and the improvements to the DVG tram/ Stadtbahn network. Much of the VRR s-bahn infrastructure (stations etc) dates from the 1970s / early 80s so is getting quite long in the tooth and it’s certainly an area that suffered from the diversion of funds to Aufbau Ost.