New rail boss Evelyn Palla does not expect any improvement in poor punctuality scores on long-distance transport any time soon. “It’s not going to get any better, we have to be honest,” said the boss German trains That South German Newspaper. This year the punctuality rate is estimated to be below 60 percent. And in the coming year, the main thing to do is to ensure that things do not get worse.
Punctuality in DB’s long-distance transportation reached a new low of 51.5 percent in October. This figure has been below 60 percent every month since June. A train is considered on time if it is less than six minutes late. After publishing the figures for September, the railway announced that its on-time target of 65 to 70 percent could no longer be achieved so far this year.
According to Palla, the reason for further deterioration is “the railway system is aging faster than previously thought”. Since the summer, this has become increasingly visible in signal boxes, rails, switches and overhead lines. “We have not reflected this in our estimates of the play.”
The system should be replaced sooner
Due to the system’s rapid aging, railroads have “much slower speeds and more unplanned construction sites in the network,” Palla said. “By 2025 we will have a total of 26,000 construction sites, 5,000 more than last year.” Next year it will probably be more than 28,000.
Palla has been in office since early October. He replaces Richard Lutz, who had led the federal government-owned company for nearly eight years.
