Overview
- Deutsche Bahn announced Saturday that it will extend its February Sofortprogramm into a long‑term “XXL‑Wash” effort and commit €210 million through 2030 to clean trains, stations and boost security.
- The package formalizes staffing increases and intensive cleaning rules, including doubling toilet‑cleaning teams to 220 to service about 52,000 onboard toilets weekly and up to ten‑hour hand washes for ICE and IC sets at the Berlin‑Rummelsburg depot.
- DB said it will keep and expand mobile maintenance teams and daily cleanliness crews that have already removed large amounts of graffiti and cleaned the equivalent of roughly 200 football fields of floor space.
- The operator is also widening a station alcohol‑consumption ban that currently covers more than 30 major stations and will be rolled out more broadly as part of measures meant to cut waste, vandalism and violent incidents.
- The program targets passenger experience and safety but does not fix persistent punctuality problems — long‑distance on‑time rates remain around the low 50s percent and DB plans separate corridor and track renewals to reach a 69–72% punctuality goal by 2030.