Overview
- The plan, disclosed in weekend reporting, commits €210 million through 2030 to scale a February Sofortprogramm that targeted dirt and vandalism on trains and at stations.
- Operational steps include doubling on‑train toilet cleaners to 220 so crews can clean about 52,000 toilets each week and adding intensive hand‑washes for ICE and IC trains at the Berlin‑Rummelsburg depot that can last up to ten hours.
- Deutsche Bahn cites early results from the Sofortprogramm — 44 mobile repair teams, graffiti removal across large areas, and a reported roughly 25 percent drop in onboard toilet faults — as the basis for making the measures permanent.
- As part of the campaign, DB is fast‑tracking an alcohol‑consumption ban at stations, saying pilots cut trash and alcohol‑related conflicts, and plans to roll the ban out to about 5,400 stations by 15 October 2026.
- The company and reporters stress the program targets cleanliness, safety and passenger comfort and will not solve core network issues: long‑distance punctuality remains around 53 percent and requires separate capacity and timetable fixes.