German local train networks less punctual in 2023

Germany's urban and suburban trains, the S-Bahn network operated by state-owned Deutsche Bahn, ran less punctually last year than in previous years, reported dpa.

This is according to an answer from the Transport Ministry to a question from Green Party Bundestag member Matthias Gastel, which was made available to dpa.

The ministry stated that 92.5% of S-Bahn trainstops were on time in 2023. The punctuality rate was 95.3% in 2019, and 96.5% in 2020.

The nine largest S-Bahn networks operated by DB were compared.

A train is still considered punctual in these statistics if it arrives at a stop with a maximum delay of 5:59 minutes. However, in rush-hour traffic with generally short journey times, this can often lead to missed connections.

With the exception of the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn in western Germany, punctuality dropped on all railways compared to the previous year. The rate in Stuttgart fell particularly sharply - by four percentage points.

"The S-Bahn trains are increasingly running behind their own timetables. The causes are often to do with disruptions to the infrastructure and insufficient capacity in overloaded railway junctions," said Gastel.

"Greater investment is needed for the long term in a more efficient and less disruption-prone infrastructure."

Infrastructure updates are unlikely in the near future due to the chaos surrounding the federal budget.