August 28, 2026, 10:37 am | Read time: 8 minutes
Making plans when traveling with Deutsche Bahn? A bold endeavor. For several months now, rail traffic has been hardly reliable. Our author had prudently planned a two-hour buffer to make an appointment at her destination. Yet her arrival was delayed by two and a half hours, initially without any information. When announcements finally came through the loudspeaker, the issues with long-distance travel were vividly revealed. In TRAVELBOOK, she vents her frustration and poses the question: What is a trip with DB really worth if the reason for travel becomes moot due to a massive delay?
The appointment was scheduled for a time window between 2 and 4 p.m. Arriving at Berlin Central Station by 1 p.m. would have been more than sufficient. Or so I thought. So, I decided to get up an hour earlier and take the 8 a.m. train. I must admit, at some point early in the four-hour journey, I was quite content. The train departed on time and wasn’t very crowded—a Sprinter, by the way, so no one else would board and join me in the compartment. But right at the halfway point, reality hit. It was going too smoothly to be true!
Emergency Stop–and Then 35 Minutes of Standstill
The train suddenly came to a more than abrupt halt, and that was it. No announcements, no information. After about 15 minutes, a timid voice, or so it seemed, came through the speakers. As we passengers might have noticed, the train had come to a stop. “I can’t tell you at the moment how things will proceed. There’s a malfunctioning signal box ahead of us.” The disruption must be significant; the train manager was still coordinating. “We might have to reverse.” And then silence again.
A glance at the DB Navigator app revealed unpleasant news. The planned arrival time had been pushed back by about two hours. And as I’ve already hinted, the delay grew even larger.
Traveling with DB is an Adventure
Regular train travelers are probably not impressed by this story—they likely have their own, perhaps even more unpleasant experiences with DB. So, I’ll summarize briefly. We had to reverse, heading back to Nordheim and from there taking a detour via Braunschweig. As the train attendant explained, “via the old line, hopefully without further disruptions.”
The “old line” refers to the older railway line running mostly parallel to the high-speed line opened in 1991 between Hanover and Göttingen. “Old” refers only to the age of the line—not its condition. This is explained by a DB spokesperson in response to a TRAVELBOOK inquiry. The train attendant’s hope for a disruption-free continuation, therefore, had nothing to do with the alternative tracks, which according to DB, meet all the requirements for safe railway operations.
“Hoping for Disruption-Free Continuation” and an Uneasy Feeling
After the previous mishap, the phrasing is anything but reassuring. Against the backdrop of the long-known issues with Germany’s rail infrastructure, the question arises once again about the standards the railway holds for the quality and reliability of its transport services.
It must be acknowledged that the aging rail network in Germany is not solely the responsibility of the railway. DB InfraGO, a subsidiary of the company, operates and maintains the network. The federal government also bears responsibility: It owns Deutsche Bahn and plays a significant role in deciding the financing of the rail infrastructure. The current state is thus also the result of years of political and financial decisions.
Outdated Network is a Reality, Passengers Bear the Brunt
The situation is what it is. As the DB spokesperson emphasizes, DB is investing “together with the federal government on an unprecedented scale.” The network is being fundamentally modernized. “This is a Herculean task that requires endurance.”
Even frustrated passengers understand that the railway cannot repair its infrastructure overnight. What it could do, however, is treat its passengers better while they wait for a functioning network.
These passengers, in turn, seem to be accustomed to quite a bit of suffering. The roughly six-and-a-half-hour journey visibly impressed only a few passengers. Their faces showed more of a sense of resignation. The looks exchanged were both meaningful and somehow meaningless. How many of them will follow the recommendation from the loudspeakers to pick up a passenger rights form in the onboard bistro to apply for compensation remains questionable. Because in many cases, it’s not really worth it.
Only 50 Percent of the Ticket Price for 2+ Hours Delay
In the event of train delays, passenger rights and compensation rates are legally regulated. For a delay of 60 minutes, you are entitled to 25 percent of the ticket price, and for more than two hours, it’s 50 percent.
Now imagine you’ve snagged a cheap saver fare ticket. With a two-, three-, or four-hour delay, you might get back, for example, 9.50 euros. The effort of filling out a form can quickly seem greater than the compensation itself. Equally unsatisfying is the other case: You’ve paid the regular ticket price, which can be quite substantial. For a ticket costing, say, 150 euros, after a two-hour delay, you still have to pay around 75 euros for the agonizingly long journey.
What many train travelers might not know: “If a delay of 60 minutes is predicted, there is the option to not start the journey or to abandon it and return to the starting station,” explains the company spokesperson to TRAVELBOOK. In both cases, the full fare is refunded. At least. However, for those who wanted to take the train home, this is not a real solution. And if you only learn about the problems when the journey is already well underway, the prospect of getting off, organizing a return trip, and possibly spending almost the entire day on a train or at a station sounds far from promising.
At this point, it should be noted again that we were on a Sprinter, which did not stop at any other station before the destination. Getting off and abandoning the journey was therefore not a practical option.
More Compensation for Delays Would Be Fair
In summary, a full fare refund after a certain delay would be better for everyone. And even better: if the compensation automatically reaches the customer, instead of them having to work through a form. Of course, the time and nerves lost due to the train journey can’t be regained. But at least you wouldn’t have to be annoyed about paying a significant portion of the original fare for such an unreliable service.
Incidentally, I stumble a bit over the word “compensation” in this context. While it is the official term, passenger rights refer to “fare compensation.” However, it can be misleading because in everyday language it sounds like you receive an additional amount for the time lost or effort incurred. An additional payment beyond the fare is only possible if so-called “extraordinary circumstances” exist or passengers claim actual damages for personal consequential damages, explains the Federal Railway Authority.
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Better Provision During Extended Stay on the Train
“In principle, according to the European Passenger Regulation, every passenger is entitled to catering ‘within reasonable limits’ in the event of a delay of 60 minutes,” says the DB spokesperson. Typically, this means a refreshment drink for a delay of 60 minutes and a snack “like sweets or a sandwich” for 120 minutes.
However, I didn’t notice any of this on my journey. Unless the individually wrapped favorite guest cookies in a basket in the onboard bistro were meant. We were only offered a free non-alcoholic drink, which we could pick up ourselves. From 1 p.m., the onboard catering was also closed because the staff had to observe their mandatory rest periods. For the passengers, this meant: Water could still be taken, but there was no more food.
It’s certainly advisable to pack provisions for longer train journeys. Personally, I don’t like eating on the train—partly because I find it impractical and not particularly polite to other passengers. But even travelers without such concerns might reasonably expect to have lunch at their destination if the original arrival was scheduled for noon. If the arrival is then delayed by two and a half hours, hunger can set in earlier.
That passengers in such a situation have to spend additional money on their provisions is far from ideal. A conciliatory idea could be automatic vouchers or a catering allowance as soon as it becomes apparent that the journey will be significantly extended.
What Does All This Mean Now?
I still remain loyal to DB. Because, in fact, I even enjoy traveling with Deutsche Bahn—when everything goes somewhat according to plan. Moreover, I hardly have any other choice. Flying is neither an efficient, environmentally conscious, nor financially viable alternative on the route I frequently need, and I don’t want a car. And the competitor on the rails, FlixTrain, has not proven to be more reliable for me so far.
But that’s exactly what makes me angry. The DB spokesperson calls the railway a “stability anchor for mobility in Germany”—in fact, millions of people rely on rail transport every day. They should all be able to trust that their journey won’t become a gamble. That this trust now seems to be considered quite bold is what’s truly frustrating.