Overview
- DB InfraGO reported a roughly 40 percent rise in infrastructure-related delay incidents in 2026, driven by more frequent failures of points, overhead lines and signal boxes.
- Several recently reopened corridor projects have underperformed: one reopened route saw about 74 percent of long-distance trips delayed and 172 cancellations while costs jumped from €2.2bn to €2.7bn.
- Extreme weather this year — a very cold winter followed by a very hot summer — has stressed aging equipment and slowed repairs because parts and control systems fail more often.
- DB insists it will continue long corridor 'Generalsanierungen' and says punctuality will improve only after finishing the most difficult works, notably Hannover–Berlin by end-2027 and Hamburg–Hannover by 2029.
- Structural factors make fixes harder: a complex set of legally separate DB subsidiaries fragments responsibility, and higher traffic from private operators is pushing lines beyond their original capacity.