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Deutsche Bahn’s Holiday Punctuality Jumps to 75% as Construction Pauses

Regulatory fines for late worksite notices signal unresolved problems that could undo the improvement once construction resumes.

Overview

  • The company reported that roughly 75% of long‑distance trains arrived within six minutes of schedule on December 24–26.
  • Deutsche Bahn attributed the gain to pausing many track works and deploying extra station staff, crowd guides and on‑board cleaners.
  • About five million passengers traveled on ICE and Intercity services over the festive period, with load factors above 60% on routes including BerlinMunich, BerlinFrankfurt and Berlin–Cologne.
  • The Federal Network Agency fined DB InfraGO €2.8 million for late construction notifications and cited timely‑notice rates of about 62% in summer and 55% in late autumn.
  • DB InfraGO projects around 28,000 work sites in 2026 versus roughly 26,000 this year, and Bild reports a 200,000‑ticket low‑fare offer for December 31 and January 1.