@Ponderable saidGiven exceptional German engineering, one might expect German trains to run like clockwork.
...and for those who want to have some information on train services:
https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/german-expat-news/deutsche-bahn-really-that-bad-international-comparison
@sonhouse saidYes and trains not being on time is the major complaint about the Deutsche bahn. However "unsafe" as is in the title is not really something I have heard (many) reports on.
@Suzianne
That report says there are a lot of delays because the high speed trains have to share tracks with slower trains so they delay waiting to use the tracks.
@Suzianne saidTime tables are a problem in dense population hubs. Even in Germany.
Given exceptional German engineering, one might expect German trains to run like clockwork.
You have to move X amount of people to Y amount of locations and so you need a Z amount of trains. This sum creates an M amount of trains per km of track.
If it snows, for example, it takes trains longer to stop and longer to reach maximum speed. So the M factor sort of clogs up. And this derails (excuse the pun) the time table.
On stretches of track (say in Siberia) where there are 2 trains a day, this doesn’t matter. But if you’re travelling from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, or in this case from Stuttgart to Munich, then it’s a serious problem.
As for train safety… no clue whatever as to what this is on about.
@shavixmir saidAs for train safety… no clue whatever as to what this is on about.
Time tables are a problem in dense population hubs. Even in Germany.
You have to move X amount of people to Y amount of locations and so you need a Z amount of trains. This sum creates an M amount of trains per km of track.
If it snows, for example, it takes trains longer to stop and longer to reach maximum speed. So the M factor sort of clogs up. And this derails (ex ...[text shortened]... then it’s a serious problem.
As for train safety… no clue whatever as to what this is on about.
I agree. German trains have historically been fast, clean and reliable. My mother-in-law rode on several of them 2 years ago and said they were very good.
2 edits
@mchill saidHere is a news item from 2023 regarding fatalities on the DB (Deutsche Bahn):
As for train safety… no clue whatever as to what this is on about.
I agree. German trains have historically been fast, clean and reliable. My mother-in-law rode on several of them 2 years ago and said they were very good.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/09/14/xaak-s14.html
And here is a link to EU statistics:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Railway_safety_statistics_in_the_EU
By far, the greatest number of casualties are among people who are crossing the tracks, unauthorised, not people on board trains.
The DB has 33,399 kilometres (20,753 mi) of track to maintain. It's a huge undertaking. And they do not use convict labor to do it (as Brit Rail infamously did, leading to a poor standard of maintenance, with trains popping off the rails; they have since improved, however). When the main north-south line, Hamburg-to-Basel, is under maintenance, as it is now, this tends to disrupt many other lines as well with delays having a domino-effect.
The DB is a modern, well-run system, all things considered. Surpassed, in my experience, only by the Swiss rail system (which is much smaller and does run on time).