Pentecost is the first hardship for passengers and railway staff during the discount campaign. Many are on their way. Large crowds are also expected in the coming days.
Overshadowed by the train accident in Bavaria, the first major wave of travel with the 9-euro ticket began on the Whitsun weekend. Nationwide there was a lot of activity on many platforms and in trains. According to the railway information, the operating situation was normal for a Pentecost weekend.
Full trains are also expected in the coming days, especially on Whit Monday. Vibration triggered a train accident near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in which four people died. A regional express train from Deutsche Bahn derailed at noon for reasons that were not yet clear.
The 9 euro ticket can be bought for June, July and August. This allows passengers to use local buses and trains nationwide for a month. Around seven million campaign tickets were sold by the time the campaign started. A particularly large number of passengers are expected at Pentecost. Many transport companies have already announced that it will not always be possible to take bicycles everywhere.
Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Transport, Winfried Hermann, called on travelers and day-trippers to remain calm and show consideration for others. Routes away from tourist highlights are also interesting.
More than every third long-distance train in May too late
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bahn is struggling with significant delays. In long-distance traffic, 62.7 percent of long-distance trains were on time in May, as a railway spokesman said. That’s the lowest monthly reading since January 2010, when a snowy winter slowed trains. “Furthermore, construction sites have massively affected punctuality, especially in busy sections of the network.” Numerous construction sites are also slowing down traffic at Pentecost.
This also affected regional trains. 92.3 percent of them arrived on time, the weakest figure so far this year. According to Deutsche Bahn definition, stops with a delay of less than six minutes are on time. Group CEO Richard Lutz had given up on Monday the goal of achieving 80 percent punctuality in long-distance transport with ICE, Intercity and Eurocity for the year as a whole. Last year, 75 percent of these trains were on time.
