In Germany — a country that has long prided itself on its punctuality, engineering expertise and perfectionism — conversation about the sorry shape of the country’s state-owned railways induces a collective rage.
Tales of epic delays, mad detours and trains stranded in the middle of nowhere are the subject of endless discussion. My own tally includes being stranded in Siegburg for the night. With little to celebrate, German railway enthusiasts have resorted to writing rave LinkedIn reviews for the journeys that do manage to arrive on time.
Last year, Deutsche Bahn’s punctuality fell to the lowest level recorded in the 190 years since the first railway line was opened between Nuremberg and Fürth in Franconia. A mere 60 per cent of all long-distance trains arrived with less than six minutes delay, compared with 90 per cent two decades earlier. But this data excludes all of the trains that were cancelled. Deutsche Bahn now underperforms even the worst British train operator.