Deutsche Bahn has announced that it will impose new measures to ensure train services meet punctuality expectations set by the German government.

DB announces punctuality plan

Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz has announced that the rail company has put together a 110-page plan to improve service punctuality. 

Further details of the plan, which includes introducing more commuter connections, redesigning the regional network, using more ICE trains, reducing turnaround times and expanding international services, will be discussed in a Deutsche Bahn board meeting on September 18.

Lutz’s announcement comes just a few days after Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) said that Deutsche Bahn must improve punctuality, particularly on long-distance trains, while making administrative and management cuts to save money.

Wissing said Deutsche Bahn bosses had until 2027 to develop a services and finance improvement plan, demanding quarterly improvement updates be issued to the Federal Ministry for Transport in the meantime.

Long stretched from years of underinvestment, a third of Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance trains were delayed in 2023 and according to Süddeutsche Zeitung, timetables have had to be changed to facilitate delays between 2 and 3 million times in 2024 so far.

S3 plan re-promises targets set five years ago

The S3 plan, seen by reporters from Süddeutsche Zeitung, promises to make Deutsche Bahn punctual and profitable again by 2027.

While Deutsche Bahn is a joint stock company, meaning company shares can be bought and sold at any time, the Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.

Lutz said that Deutsche Bahn was aiming to run at a profit of two billion euros in 2027.

According to the newspaper, the promises made by Lutz and Deutsche Bahn are largely the same as those set five years ago for 2024.

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